Bonds
by xAmaryllis
Summary: How strong should bonds be before it breaks? NejiHina.
1. Mission

**Author's Note**: This is a NejiHina story. Hope that you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters.

* * *

><p><strong>Bonds - Chapter 1<strong>

The air hung thick and heavy inside the closed office, and mountains of paperwork were stacked and piled up together, forming columns of white, things that are needed to be read, signed and stamped.

Tsunade tapped her fingers on her desk and reached out from under her to check her hidden jug of sake. She eyed the piles of white occupying her desk as she lifted and shook the bottle, confirming that it's full. She needs a drink, she can't possibly face all of this work sober.

She sighed. _This is so irritating_.

The door of her office opened quietly and her raven-haired assistant stepped in. "Tsunade-sama, Neji-san is here."

Tsunade straightened her back and raised her face, peering from the monstrous heap of papers obscuring her view. The papers were starting to annoy her, and she smirked at the amused thought of her burning them to ash. But she knows that she can't. So she gave out a sigh and with a wave of her hand she said, "Aa, let him in."

"Yes." Shizune bowed, went out, closed the door and motioned for the young jounin to come in.

The Hyuga member stepped inside her workroom, and he went in carrying with him an air of coldness, calmness and competence. Always serious and proper this Hyuga is. Not even one smudge or wrinkle can be found in his white shirt and pants, even after the most grueling of missions, and his face is as cold and as reserved as ever. He looked at Tsunade, his face stern, and white eyes tinged with silver met blue.

"What is the reason that you called for me, Hokage-sama?"

The blond haired kunoichi snorted and rested her chin on her hand, eyelids drooping, looking as bored and as uninterested as ever. "You have a mission. This will be your last, since you're being promoted to ANBU. I know that you've already been aware of that promotion."

"...This mission is so simple that I'd like to give it to someone else, but everyone is busy nowadays. There's an influx of clients and I've only got a few people left. There's too much requests, too much work." Eyeing the stacks papers on her desk. 'I really need a drink' she thought to herself.

Neji didn't say anything, there's nothing to be said. He accepts whatever mission is given to him. He is a shinobi, and he does what needs to be done. He just stood there, tall and steady, waiting for the blue-eyed woman to resume speaking.

Sensing that Neji will not reply, she sighed again, and she took out her sake bottle from under her desk and uncorked it. "It's a simple escort mission to Tea country, you'll be escorting a merchant's daughter. It's somewhat far so it might take you a couple of weeks to get there. You can form your team yourself, I don't really care who you pick. I don't want to bother myself anymore, there's already too much waiting to be done." She waved her hand, raised the opening of the bottle to her lips and chugged.

Exhaling contently and looking back to the brown-haired genius she asked, "But do you have anyone in mind for you team?"

"Hinata-sama." He answered. His face matching his voice. Devoid of any hints of emotion. He is expressionless, serious, blank and decided.

"Hinata?" Her eyebrows scrunched together slightly and took another gulp of her sake. "What do you need another byakugan user for? Your range is farther than her's, so I don't really see why you need her."

Tsunade eyed the jounin carefully, suspiciously. The blonde Kage was well-aware that Hinata had greatly improved as a kunoichi. She is able to serve and complete any high-ranking missions with her teammates without fail. Her skills have improved, developed and became more refined due to her training and her own self-efforts, she also had become one of the best trackers with her Byakugan, just after Neji. But of course, it is undeniable that Neji is a lot stronger than Hinata, he had the advantage of being a Hyuga genius, a prodigy.

And Neji opened his mouth to speak, "This is my last mission, Hokage-sama, and as you said, it can be easily completed. And you know that Hiashi-sama had entrusted Hinata-sama's training to me, and being in the ANBU, I will not be able to train her due to my future missions requiring a lot of time to complete. This will be the last time that I will be able to train her."

"But during the mission Neji? There aren't any threats, but can you just do it after?" Tsunade scowled.

"If anyone attacks us, Hinata-sama and I will be able to sense and avoid them easily. But if a battle is unavoidable, Hinata-sama and I are able to fully protect ourselves and the client. And besides Hokage-sama, you stated earlier that I can choose whoever I want."

Tsunade shrugged and looked away, her hands returning to cradle her chin. "Fine, do what you ANBU ceremony will begin once you return from your mission. Now, get out of here."

"We will take leave tomorrow at sunrise." He bowed his head, turned on his heel, and walked out of Tsunade's office.

* * *

><p>Veins bulged and became prominent as the Hyuga heir activated her blood-line limit, and she was instantly allowed to immediately see her opponent's Tenketsu points.<p>

Her palms were spread open with each attack, but she didn't place any of her chakra in her hands. She didn't want to hurt her teammate badly, or give them severe injuries because everyone knows how deadly and painful the Hyuga technique can be. She loved sparring with them, her teammates, her friends, because she knows she won't be this strong without their help and support.

She is now stronger and a bit more confident in her abilities, but everything else in her remained the same. Still shy, still kind, but more deadly and more fast.

Her eyes never left her opponent's, watching him, looking for any opening, any mistake, any chance to strike while she avoided every jab, and every kick Kiba threw at her with ease.

Kiba jolted on his heels and took a step back when Hinata's palm slipped right through his block and landed flat on his chest, just right next to his heart. Hinata's eyes widened as they froze.

her lips were parted, panting, aiding with her breath. Sweat was trickling down her face and neck, almost glistening with the light of the sunset. She removed her palm on him, and Kiba smiled at her in approval. She turned her face to look at her silent teammate. With his glasses hiding his eyes, he gave her a nod, and she knows perfectly well what this means. She deactivated her Byakugan and smiled.

"Well, that's another score for you Hinata-chan! The score now is 5-7, two more wins for you and we'll have equal scores!" Kiba beamed at her and smiled with a toothy grin, and Akamaru barked at her, seemingly like he was encouraging her.

Hinata moved away and dropped back into her fighting stance, but Kiba shook his head and said, "No, I think that's enough for today. We've been training for hours already and Shino and I have different missions together this week."

The training area is unoccupied by people other than these three Shinobis. The sun is setting in the horizon, and Hinata can barely see the sun through the trees. It will be dark soon, but the three of them sat together, too tired to move, or even to speak. This day's training had been extensive, they sparred with each other since morning, and they've just finished today. Hinata touched the grass beneath her, Everyone is so busy right now, she thought. And she wondered to herself if there is also a mission waiting for her.

As if right on cue, she heard a familiar voice say, "I need to speak to Hinata-sama."

Hinata looked up and saw Neji standing right beside her, she stood up, a little wobbly from exhaustion, but his strong hands grabbed both of her shoulders, steadying her. Her other teammates stood up too, and Kiba said, "Nah, it's okay, it's getting dark, and we're gonna go home anyway." He exhaled loudly and patted the grass off his clothes.

Hinata spoke with her angelic voice as they turned to leave, "U-ummm... Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, g-good lu-uck on your missions." And she gave them a sincere smile, Neji gave them a nod, Shino nodded back to the two of them and Kiba waved and grinned at the two cousins before he turned and walked away, with a white-haired beast energetically following him.

"W-what is it, N-neji-nii? I-is th-there something w-wrong?" She eyed her cousin curiously. His hands forgotten, still resting on her arms.

"We have a mission. We will leave tomorrow."

"So soon?" She said. Her body still ached from the training, from the punches and kicks that she couldn't avoid, her body ached from falling down, from over exertion, the effect of wanting to be strong.

"Yes." He replied. "So you have to rest as soon as we get home." He removed his hands from his hold on her arm, and walked into the direction of the Hyuga compound.

She walked by his side, in a bit of pain, but she didn't dare to show it. She will not let Neji see her weak. She already have his respect, and she loved it every time she hears him praise her, like for every mission accomplished, for every fight that she had won, and for every evidence that showed him that she had gotten stronger.

Like Shino and Kiba, she wouldn't have become strong without her cousin's help. She grew under his tutelage, he trained her every time he can. She grew under his care, and they developed a strong and unbreakable bond, despite the harsh words that he sometimes said to her when training under him, she knows that her cousin only said it to taunt her, to make her get up up again.

She knows that behind those words that he used, are the ones that spoke of encouragement and hope. She knows it, because every time, she gets up she sees an unusual spark of pride in his eyes for a short while. And to her, that is enough to keep her going, to make her never give up and stand again.

Neji walked confidently, his head held high and the chilly evening breeze was stroking his skin. Beside him, his cousin walked daintily, taking small careful steps. In the night's darkness, their white eyes shone, identical, but still different. Hinata walked a little bit slower, so that she can sneak a look at him. She peeked at him through her lashes and she saw his long hair, tied near the bottom to avoid being in the way, but it looked like a flowing stream on his back, she also saw the pale flesh of his neck, his broad back and the white fabric of his clothes. She had loved Neji's hair, he once told her that he kept it long for the sake of traditions, but it looks perfect on him.

She had never touched his hair, but she would love to run her fingers through them, even if it's just once, just to let her feel what it's like.

Neji noticed his cousin's paces becoming slower, he then clamped his hand around hers, hoping that she'd walk faster or else he'd be forced to drag her. The night wind is getting colder, and he's worried that Hinata might get sick, he knows that she's still exhausted, and her clothes are still a bit damp with sweat.

She snapped back to reality when she felt his hand, her face going red. She lowered down her gaze hoping that he wouldn't see the blush on her cheeks.

And silently, secretly, she immediately stored in her memory the feeling of his hand wrapped around hers.

Unbeknownst to her, Neji was looking at her, and he smirked, both confused and amused at his cousin's little antics, he knows that her face tells everything, every emotion that she felt, and all the things that she had been thinking of, even the things that she had tried to hide, it is easily shown on her innocent face, like an open book waiting to be read. That's why Hinata can never lie.

But seeing Hinata now, as he led her by the hand, he can't seem to comprehend why her cheeks are blazing furiously red.


	2. Client

Author's Note: Chapter two and it's already boring. *Sigh* I'm sorry. I just really need to write something about Kasumi.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters.

* * *

><p>Bonds - Chapter 2<p>

_The night was cold, and a fragile-looking woman lay still on the damp ground of a hollow cave. Her hair is red and long, with some parts of it framing her face. She feels cold, hungry and afraid, and her eyes are quite red from crying for days. She longed for her family and friends back home, she wants to return to the warmth of her cozy room, and to feel the embrace of her worried mother and father.  
><em>

_I hope that they haven't given up looking for me, she thought to herself.  
><em>

_Her clothes are quite thin, not providing enough protection from the chilly night air. She shivered and closed her eyes, questioning herself if she should just give up and break. It's been a week and she doesn't know where she is. Her captors are always guarding the entrance, and she wouldn't even dare to escape. She's too afraid. She doesn't want to get hurt.  
><em>

_Not that they ever did. They barely even talk to her.  
><em>

_They offer her food, simple bread and water, but she rarely eats it.  
><em>

_She doesn't trust them. She can never.  
><em>

_She is a bit sleepy, but she tries her best not to fall asleep. Nightmares of her ambush and images of her slaughtered servants would always appear in her dreams. Her thin yukata had streaks of blood, blood from the people who cared for her when she was still young, blood from those who served her, blood from those who died dying to protect her.  
><em>

_She once used the water from the drink offered to her to removed the stains of blood off her clothes, but the dried crimson was persistent, it didn't even fade. It tormented her every time, reminding her that she's still alive and suffering.  
><em>

_'Good thing okasan and otousan weren't there, or else I wouldn't even want to think about what could have happened to them.' She thought.  
><em>

_The earth inside the cave clung to her hair and clothes, staining her skin, digging itself under her once-polished fingernails.  
><em>

_She thought she was pitiful.  
><em>

_And she gave herself a nervous laugh as a tear ran down her cheek.  
><em>

_'They said that they'd let me go if my family can produce a rare scroll and a huge sum of money, but we're not a family of shinobi's to begin with...'  
><em>

_Her thoughts were interrupted by noises and explosions outside the cave, and she turned her face to look. She saw that no one was guarding the entrance, and she felt her heartbeat quicken, and so did her breath. She cautiously moved to the cave's opening, looking carefully at her surroundings, looking for anyone who is watching her.  
><em>

_Then she saw one of her captors' body lay soaked in a pool of blood with three kunais on his chest.  
><em>

_The stench of her captor's blood is nauseating, and images of her dead servants flashed before her, and she lost her focus. Her knees were feeling week, and she felt it give way. She expected her body to fall, but something else prevented her from hitting the ground. She felt strong arms grab her, encircle her and lift her up, supporting her back and knees. She heard a male's voice that she can never forget, he whispered, and she could have cried at his words,  
><em>

_"You're safe now." He said._

* * *

><p><em>She opened her eyes, her vision slightly blurry, and she she looked at her savior. She saw his white shirt, and burnished colored hair that seemed to flow to his back, his unusual white eyes that she'd love to stare into until forever, and she quickly memorized his face, until her body and consciousness failed her and she drifted off to sleep.<br>_

_She woke up at the hospital, bandaged and healed and her clothes removed and changed into a white medical gown. She looked around the unfamiliar room that she was in and noticed a pink-haired woman with similarly-colored emerald eyes looking at a chart. The woman looked at her and said, "Oh, you're finally awake." She beamed at her.  
><em>

_"I'm Sakura. What's your name?" The pale woman in red said.  
><em>

_"Kasumi." She replied briskly and quietly.  
><em>

_"You've been out for quite some time. But don't worry, you didn't seem to have any major injuries. In fact, you're perfectly fine. Well, except for maybe a couple of small bruises and scratches, but nothing that we can't fix."  
><em>

_"Where am I?" She asked, looking at Sakura in the eye. Twin green eyes meeting.  
><em>

_"You're in a hospital in Konoha."  
><em>

_"Konoha?" She responded. Unfamiliar to the name.  
><em>

_"Yes. According to the reports, there were some rogue-nins who attacked you and your party. I guess it's obvious to say that you're the only left. The reason they kept you alive is because they wanted some scrolls and money from your family." Sakura's features softened and moved closer to the girl.  
><em>

_"The rogue-nins were keeping you here in Konoha, so the Hokage was forced to take action and sent a team to recover you." She continued.  
><em>

_"That's ridiculous, we don't have scrolls. We don't even have a shinobi in the family." She spat the words out with displeasure, the images of her murdered servants flashing to her mind once more. Her head began to hurt. She raised her hands to soothe her throbbing temples, and she grimaced at the pain.  
><em>

_"Take it easy. You need to rest." Concerned jade-colored eyes looked at her, and Sakura pushed her back to lay on the bed. "I'll check up on you again." She turned to leave.  
><em>

_"W-wait!" She stammered. She was feeling slightly dizzy.  
><em>

_The kunoichi paused in confusion and looked at her.  
><em>

_"Who was the one who saved me? The one with brown hair and uncommon-looking eyes."  
><em>

_Eyes that I can never forget. Eyes that I love.  
><em>

_"Oh, you mean Neji-kun?" The med-nin said with a smile playfully forming on her lips. "Maybe you'll see him once you're well." She snickered at her blushing patient and walked out the door.  
><em>

_"Neji..."  
><em>

_Kasumi's hand clutched her blanket, and smiled as she drifted off to sleep.  
><em>

_"Hokage-sama, I would like to return to my country." She stood in the middle of the blue-eyed Kage's office, a lone figure in the midst of paper piles full of words that the blonde kunoichi doesn't want to bother reading.  
><em>

_"Okay." She said in a deadpan voice and snorted. Her eyes never leaving the mission reports in her hand that never seemed to diminish.  
><em>

_Kasumi took a deep breath, and looked sternly at the woman before her and said,  
><em>

_"I'd like to request someone to be my escort."  
><em>

* * *

><p>The sun is rising in Konoha and Neji is waiting at the main gate with his cousin. They're both ready for their mission with their bags packed and their calm determination to succeed the simple assignment.<p>

Hinata smiled at her cousin offering him the cup of hot tea in her hand.

"No thank you, Hinata-sama." the auburn-haired jounin said.

"Umm... b-but, it's q-quite cold, a-and y-you need to w-warm your self u-up." Her eyes were pleading and insistent.

He frowned a little and sighed as he took the paper cup full of hot liquid from her hands. He took a sip, and he admitted to himself that this tea tasted nice, he is quite sure that Hinata was the one who brewed this. Tea ceremonies were taught at an early age in their clan, and he knows that Hinata easily mastered it when she was still young.

He remembered seeing her prepare tea, with her slender hands skillfully holding dried tea leaves, or pouring hot liquid to his teacup, he remembered her fingertips, face and frame, she was always focused, graceful and pale.

And of course, every time he trained in the Hyuga compound, Hinata would always bring him tea. He would always take a break from what he's doing, and he'd sit near her as she offered him a cup. He'd drink it and she'd giggle, and they'd talk about certain things that nobody cares about. If they ever did run out of topic or words, they would just sit contently, staring at the blue sky, until he regains his energy and gets up to train again.

White-lavender eyes were staring at him and he looked at the cup in his hand, he didn't seem to notice that he almost drank it all. Neji murmured an apology to Hinata, feeling a little bit embarrassed for almost drinking all of her tea, she said that she didn't mind and she bit her lip and gave him a soft smile and took the almost-empty cup from him.

"U-ummm, hello." The male Hyuga heard a soft female voice speak and he turned his head into the direction of the voice.

"You must be Neji. My escort. My name is Kasumi." She smiled at him, her emerald-colored eyes never leaving his opalescent ones.

"Shall we get going?" Neji asked in a steady voice.

"Yes, if you're ready." She moved closer to him, and Neji turned to Hinata,

"Hinata-sama we're leaving." He said.

Kasumi stared intently at the dark haired woman, her face giving a look of surprise that there is another escort.

Hinata didn't seem to notice her client's expression, and nodded to Neji and she stood up, with the cup of tea still held in between her two hands.

And Hinata didn't know that the part of the cup where Neji's lips landed to drink,

Is also that the spot that Hinata's lips touched as she drank.


	3. Journey

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters.

* * *

><p>Fluffy white clouds are looming overhead, usually hidden from view by countless green leaves attached to sturdy tree branches. Three figures are walking along a grassy path, one of them had red hair that shone in the sun, her emerald eyes twinkled as she looked at the young jounin walking next to her. She always moved closer to him, the pink-silky fabric of her kimono intentionally brushing against the sleeve of his shirt.<p>

The remaining two had identical white eyes and pale skin, but almost everything else about them seemed to be different. The opalescent-eyed male was walking confidently ahead, face raised up with dignity and honor, and his strides spoke of decisiveness in every step. With thick veins flowing with chakra protruding from his cheeks and near his eyes, on the side of his head, he carefully monitored their surroundings for any signs of malicious intent. A step or two behind him walked Hinata, the girl with similar-looking eyes, milky and white. Her head is slightly bowed looking at her steps, her feet and on the ground. She's always as quiet as a mouse, always so shy to talk to anyone. And if she ever found the courage to let words flow from her mouth, she always stutters, but she does try her best to avoid doing that.

Their journey to Tea country to escort their red-haired client was peaceful and quiet, since the two Hyugas are silent by nature. But Kasumi, with countless thoughts in her mind about the person walking beside her is getting a little bit irritated.

_Yes. Kami-sama, I like him. Yes he is here. But, he never did once look at me._

_He never even said anything to me since we left the main gate._

Kasumi sighed and eyed the shy kunoichi walking behind them.

_And why the hell is there another person here? I only asked for Neji. Annoying,_ She thought.

Hinata didn't look up, her eyes remained fixed on her steps, as if she was concentrating, not wanting herself to trip. She didn't notice Kasumi's glance and the slight expression on her face.

They've been walking for hours and Kasumi couldn't stand the silence anymore. She turned her face to her companion, looking up at him with her eyes sparkling like polished jade jewels.

"Ano, Neji-kun..." She asked.

"What is it, Kasumi-san?" Neji answered, his voice deep and his eyes still looking straight ahead.

"I was just wondering if you remember me." She spoke softly, but she was so close to him that he didn't need to strain nearer to her to hear perfectly what she's saying.

"You look familiar."

His words stung her a bit and her shoulders slightly slumped. So he doesn't.

"Oh." She looked away. Not showing the hurt on her small face.

She paused for a little while before resuming to speak again.

"...you saved me once. I was ambushed, and kidnapped by rogue-nins."

He recalled that night, and it all returned to him. He remembered going on the mission with Ten-ten and Lee, he remembered a thrown kunai directed on his blind spot that he failed to sense and evaded it with pure luck, he remembered a girl, catching a fainting woman, her clothes stained with blood. The captive. So this is her?

"I remember now." He replied to her.

But Neji hardly remembers her face, because he barely looked at her.

"Really?" She grinned. "That's good. I am very happy that you do." And she slipped her hands around his arm. Neji frowned slightly at the sudden contact, client or not, to him, this woman is still a stranger, and he really doesn't like being touched by strangers, or anyone for that matter. And now, with his face not showing anything, he is internally debating if he should push her away or not, because this is really uncomfortable.

Hinata observed their interaction, and her eyebrows creased slightly in between when she saw the girl in a pink kimono latch herself on her cousin's arm. Hinata's head is blank and her eyes remained glued to Kasumi's uncalloused hands attached firmly to Neji. She didn't notice that her paces were becoming slower, and her steps were getting smaller. And she wondered curiously at the slight stinging sensation on her chest.

Neji, with his Byakugan saw Hinata slowing down a bit, he placed his have over Kasumi's wrist and released himself from his client's grip, pausing his strides, he turned to look at his dainty cousin who is falling behind. "Hinata-sama, are you tired? Should we rest?"

Hinata looked at Neji's bright eyes and stared at him of a couple of seconds, then she fought back a blush and shook her head. "N-no, it's n-nothing, w-we should k-keep going." She took her little steps, and they resumed walking ahead.

Thinking that Hinata had not yet fully recovered from her training yesterday, Neji slowed down his pace until he's walking side by side with his fragile cousin. He is watching her carefully, intently, for any signs of fatigue or pain, determined to make her sit down and rest if he ever detects it.

He doesn't want to admit it to anyone, even to himself, but he is quite overprotective of his shy little cousin.

Kasumi's eyes narrowed and stared at them from the corner of her eye.

_Who is she to you Neji?_

Looking at the two Hyugas walking side by side, their shoulders almost touching, Kasumi felt jealousy burn up inside her, seeing Neji walking with a girl other than her. She asked herself if she has the right to feel this way, maybe she does, she's not sure that she doesn't. They've just met, but she knows that ever since Neji saved her, and carried her in his arms to safety, she loved him. She really did. And she knows that if she just gives him time to get used to her presence, he too will love her back.

After all, she got everything that she wanted using her persistence, ever since she was a child. So, what is the difference now, right? He'll be with her, she's sure that he will. But as she carefully observed her two escorts, her eyes never leaving them as they walked. She sensed that they have no intention of acknowledge her, like they were simply just ignoring her. And her anger multiplied as she continued to stare at the pale-faced woman who stole her place by Neji's side. _The nerve. I wish that she had never come._

"Hey!" Kasumi hollered and childishly stomped her foot. Neji and Hinata turned their faces towards her.

"I'm the client here" pointing to herself "So I should be guarded. You both can't just walk off leaving me unprotected." Her voice both high-pitched and soft, and she folded her arms on her chest.

Hinata's eyes widened a bit at Kasumi's sudden outburst and she bowed her head and stuttered an apology, "I-I'm s-sorry Kasumi-san, th-this w-won't happen again."

Kasumi walked up to them and pushed Hinata as she positioned herself between them and opened her mouth again to speak, her voice returning to her soft tone, "Let's continue walking then."

Neji didn't even falter. He didn't even blink.

But when Hinata looks at her cousin's eyes, that are so identical to her own, she perfectly understands everything that he doesn't say, just by looking into his pupil-less orbs. She knows what he's feeling now, a little bit annoyed, but his face never showed his emotions. '_But that's okay'_, she said to herself. Because she feels a little bit of pride for understanding her precious cousin more than anyone else.

* * *

><p>The day turned to night and the warm air became cold. The three of them are still somewhere in Konoha, not even near the border yet. Neji paused, and turned to his companions "We will make camp here. We will resume our journey again tomorrow." Hinata nodded,<p>

"Umm, I guess I'll prepare our dinner. But I'll look for firewood first".

"Hn. I'll be on look-out duty." Neji replied and turned his back, leaving Hinata and a resting Kasumi who is sprawled on the grass with a happy smile because she spent the day with Neji, even if that weird-stuttering kunoichi is also walking beside them.

Neji let go of his breath, sighing. _Finally_, he said to himself. _Some peace and quiet_._ Kasumi-san sure can talk for hours and hours without end._

Hinata placed her backpack on the grass-covered ground beside Neji's and proceeded to walk towards a nearby place filled with overgrown bushes and some trees. She picked dried fallen wood one by one, careful not to trip on tree roots that were arched above the ground.

_I wonder if Kasumi-san likes Neji-niisan. Or maybe she's just being friendly? Of course, Neji-niisan saved her so she must really be grateful._

A sad smile formed on her lips remembering Kasumi's hands clinging to her protector's arm. She admitted to herself that she had never touched Neji like that, not after her uncle's death, not after he despised the main branch, including her.

Hinata shook her head, reminding herself that Neji had changed.

But she couldn't shake off the truth that she had never touched him. Well, not willingly. They had contact during spars, or during training when he's constantly adjusting her stance. Or every time he tries to steady her or catch her when she trips or falls down which happens a lot of the time.

_I'm embarrassing._ She thought.

But every time he did touch her, she recalled that his hands were strong, his palms and fingers felt a little rough when she felt it make contact with her skin. Maybe due to his excessive training. His hands also always felt warm, and sometimes when he touches her she seems to lose focus and the world seems to go blank, her senses are all blocked out and and the only thing she can feel is touch. Her cheeks were fuming and she violently shooked her head. Erasing the thoughts and recalled memories, not wanting to go back to camp with her face blazing red.

On the other side, a little father away, Neji, with his Byakugan activated, chuckled a little to himself as he sees his pale-lavender eyed cousin's face do an impersonation of a tomato. He wondered to himself why he never got tired of being amused of his cousin's face looking like that.

When they were kids, of course, he knows that he called her cute.


	4. Dinner

Author's Note: I don't really like this chapter much. It feels so boring.

Gah. Now, I'm not confident with my writing skills. Boohoo.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.

* * *

><p>Her pale skin and fingertips were brushing against the grass and her face was raised up to the night sky. Kasumi slowly inhaled and exhaled, her chest steadily rising up and down. Outwardly she appears calm, but she's really experiencing tremulous emotions inside.<p>

She felt like a child unable to get the prize.

_It's just the first day_, she thought.

_But why am I feeling this way?_

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of leaves bustling, and old, fallen tree branches breaking as it is being stepped on. Her eyes moved towards the direction of the sound, and she saw something white move against the darkness of the forest and Kasumi instantly knew that it's Neji.

And her eyes never left him.

She stared intently, feverishly at his clothes,

knowing the body that lay hidden beneath them,

She stared at his face, with chakra-flowing veins that keeps her safe,

And she stared at his eyes that shone and contrasted with the dark shadows of the night.

She exhaled softly.

_I'm not ready to give up._

She raised her hand and searched for something in her bag.

* * *

><p>Hinata returned to their camp carrying a bundle of dried sticks in her arms. She placed it a few feet away from the bonfire, and patted off the dirt on the sleeves of jacket. She then took some dried twigs, broke them in half and tossed them into the fire. She watched the orange flames spark and dance for a while and remembered that she had to cook dinner.<p>

Looking around her as she walked towards her backpack, she saw Kasumi looking happy and content lying on the grass, and Neji in the woods, looking out for any signs of danger.

She smiled to her cousin, knowing that he won't see.

Neji's back was facing her and his byakugan is activated,

He smiled back.

Hinata opened her bag and rummaged through her things for some cooking equipment and spices relying on her tactile senses to blindly find what she's looking for. The female kunoichi was used to missions that requires her to camp out for the night, but she really had to admit that even if there's a bonfire, it's still quite hard to see anything. Dark shadows are always looming, formed and falling, blanketing and covering her view. Hiding what she's trying to find.

She felt someone move closer to her and Hinata quickly turned her face in surprise,

"K-Kasumi-san?" She managed to force out of her mouth, the red-haired woman's tall shadow was enveloping her with darkness intensified by the bonfire behind them. "I-is something w-wrong?"

The red-haired woman grinned and waved her hand, "No, no, nothing is wrong. I was just wondering what you're gonna cook for dinner."

"Oh." She relaxed. "Um, I-I'm... not really sure yet, but m-maybe s-something s-simple and easy t-to do. Because I d-din't really bring a-alot of things w-with me."

"Hm, is that so?" Kasumi said, turning her face in another direction and bit her lip, she seemed to be thinking of something.

The female Hyuga responded with a nod. Thinking that their conversation was over she returned her attention to her backpack, her hands still rummaging through her things. But she noticed that Kasumi didn't move. Her shadow was stiff and unmoving and it was still covering her. Hinata found it quite odd, feeling Kasumi's eyes boring holes in her skull, but she just shrugged it off and continued to look for the materials that she will need to cook their dinner.

A few minutes later, the emerald-eyed woman crouched near Hinata, with one frail hand placed on her knee supporting her upper body, and her other hand raised up near her lips, as if she's sharing some sort of secret to the young kunoichi.

"Hinata-chan" Kasumi said with a smile, her eyes twinkling with delight.

"Y-yes Kasumi-san?" She didn't turn to look at her client, she was too busy with preparing the materials to be used in cooking, her hand picked up a bottle of aromatic spices and she placed it neatly on the floor beside the pan.

Being brought up as a heiress, and raised in a clan where respect is greatly favored and demanded, Hinata had learned to be polite and refined at such an early age; she learned to be graceful, gentle and delicate, but strong, tough and sturdy at the same time; She learned not to speak when not spoken to, and to keep her thoughts and opinions to herself unless they're in unison with the council's own. Most of all, she learned how to bow low enough where the council members will not see the expression on her face. She knows that by not looking at someone in the eye and doing something else and not pausing during a conversation is very disrespectful, she wouldn't dare do this to anyone. Not Neji, not the Elders and, especially not her father. She shuddered at the thought of his reaction if his eldest daughter dared to be insolent.

But it is getting late, she's sure that her client will understand. They need to eat now, because the earlier they eat, the earlier they will rest and the earlier they will resume their journey to Tea Country.

"I'd like to cook dinner." Kasumi's voice was soft and gentle, but a bit commanding in tone.

"W-what?" The pearl-eyed woman asked in surprise, her pale eyes darted to meet her client's jade ones. No client had ever asked to cook their meal before.

"I'd like to cook." Sounding a bit irritated at having to repeat herself. "I want Neji to eat something that I made." Her smile never fading from her face.

"Oh..." She finished unpacking and placed some eggs on the pan and looked down to the grass on the ground. "I-I guess that's alright." She twiddled her fingers, unsure of what to do now.

"Great!" Her eyes sparkling in the night's darkness, the green-colored hue brightened with her beaming smile. "You can set up the tent then."

The dark-haired woman nodded, and she motioned with her hand to show Kasumi the materials she had prepared to use in cooking their dinner. She mumbled and stuttered with her soft voice, her eyes never leaving the ground, apologizing that she should have brought more things to cook in their meal and slowly rose to her feet, she walked towards one bag and began pulling out a white cloth-like material from it, that will serve as their temporary shelter for the night.

The red-haired woman's eyes glinted in both frustration and great concentration as she eyed the materials laid out to her.

_What the hell can I do with just some fish, eggs and spices?_

She mentally sighed.

She was well aware from the start that she wouldn't be able to prepare a very extravagant meal for her male escort. Aside from the fact that there is an obvious lack of ingredients, she doesn't really know how to cook complicated meals that well. And she perfectly knows that she's not good at improvising at cooking either. She knows that the dishes she had ever tried to cook is above decent, but that's because she'd been cooking them for such a long time that it would be stupid if she couldn't get it even a little bit right. She mentally berated herself for sneering at her servants when they offered to teach her how to cook. Well, that's what they're for, right?

She bit her rose-tinted lips and reminded herself that it's for Neji.

_I have to try my best for Neji._

"Um, Kasumi-san?"

Unfocused emerald eyes were brought back to reality, once her thoughts were interrupted by her escort. "What is it?" She grunted.

"Um, there's only two tents." Two tents she had already made up and prepared, ready to be slept on and repose. She stared at her fidgeting hands. "Didn't you bring yours?"

Kasumi looked confused for a moment, "Aren't you supposed to carry my tent with you?" _You seriously don't expect me to be carrying anything, do you?_

"Oh, um... no." The kunoichi bowed her head, not sure exactly what to feel. Confused? Surprised? Irritated?

"That doesn't matter." The male Hyuga announced, walking nearer to them. His voice was cold, and he spoke quietly, yet the two women heard it perfectly clear, as if it resonated in the forest and ran to their ears. "Two is enough. Kasumi-san will take one tent and Hinata-sama and I shall take turns in sleeping. We have to be alert and keep watch during the night."

"Oh, um, that's right." Hinata's face was bowed lower, her ears throbbing with heat. She felt embarrassed for her stupidity, she should have thought about it earlier.

Gracefully rising up to her feet, Kasumi turned to Neji, a soft smile entered her face. "Neji-kun. Um, can you please deactivate your Byakugan for a second? I need to change my clothes." Her fingers twirled a lock of her firey-red hair, and a blush crept up to her face, rivaling the pale-eyed kunoichi's.

Neji deactivated his Kekkei Genkai and turned away, leaving the two females again in camp. Thinking that maybe he can relax and mediate for a while before dinner.

Kasumi then picked up a jug and handed it to Hinata, "I saw a fresh-water stream there earlier." she said, pointing a slender finger to the small parting of trees to her left. "Can you refill my jug for me? I tend to drink a lot of water during meals.

"O-of course K-Kasumi-san."

Hinata's feet moved and walked towards the path Kasumi pointed her at. When she went past the parting trees, she felt the damp earth crush and flatten at the soles of her sandals, the night wind brushed against the exposed skin of her neck, and she shivered at it's coldness, like dead fingers touching her flesh. She walked farther and farther away from camp, the night's darkness making everything dimmer and harder to see. She closed her eyes for a brief moment to listen, and there wasn't even the sound of running water to be heard.

She shrugged, thinking that her client might have been wrong and turned on her heel and walked back the way she came.

Small glimpses of light were one of the first things that she saw as she went closer to their campsite. The bonfire was radiating intense orange heat and light, it danced and flickered, making snapping sounds as it devoured with it's flames the twigs that she found. Aside from that, the smell of food was lingering in the air, taunting her her nose's sense of smell and making her mouth water with hunger. Come to think of it, they didn't eat lunch today. She thought.

Stepping into their campsite, her gaze immediately turned to the Hyuga genius, his silver-tinged eyes leaving the platter of food in his hands, shifting to her. He didn't say anything but he looked at her questioningly. His cheeks were smooth with the absence of his protruding veins. _I guess he didn't know where I went._ Then she turned and went nearer to Kasumi, apologizing, saying that she couldn't find the stream of water her client was talking about earlier and silently handed her client the empty jug she had failed to fill. Kasumi just smiled at her, handing her a ready-made plate, the food in it looking something like an omelette, and Kasumi motioned for her to sit.

She sat beside her cousin and placed a small bit of food in her mouth, resisting the urge to stick everything in her mouth all at once like a certain blonde-haired boy even though she is really hungry. But her chews were a bit faster and her chopsticks was holding out a piece of her omelette, ready to carry the food into her mouth once she had swallowed.

In the corner of her eye, she saw emerald eyes twinkle, the glow of the bonfire adding depth. Her eyes looked like it was blazing, a forest that's burning.

When she finished half of the food on her plate, she felt something funny stir inside her, and her head was starting to feel a little bit foggy. Then she felt her body give way to the darkness.


	5. My

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters

* * *

><p>Neji caught Hinata in his arms as she fainted. Her dark colored hair was staining and spilling as it rested on the white fabric of his sleeve. The area in between his eyebrows creased slightly, he was worried. Inside, he was panicking. <em>Just what the hell happened?<em>

His Byakugan activated instantly as if it was purely instinctual and he quickly and carefully scanned the area for the shinobis who will face his wrath. _How dare they do this to my Hinata._

His thoughts paused for a moment in sudden realization.

_**My** Hinata..._

He shook his head slightly, mentally berating himself that protectors don't call the people they serve 'my'. But he just doesn't have anything else better than the word 'my'. He thought of a substitute for the word, but he couldn't come up with anything close.

She is his cousin after all, and sometimes or, dare he say it, most of the times, she is dependent upon him, to protect her when she cannot protect herself, to take care of her when she's too down to do so, and to love her, as a cousin, a brother,

...a friend.

The young jounin knows that he is happy that she's dependent upon him, even if it's just a small thing, he felt some sort of pride in that. Or something a bit like a sense of purpose, knowing that he has something to protect, something to live for, a reason to wake up everyday. Neji would have loved to wake up to the scent of his mother's cooking, or train and maybe talk with his father, and maybe even if had a younger sibling, he knows that he'd fight tooth and nail to protect him or her. He knows that the people he had cared much about were all dead and gone. But he is also aware that someone alive, breathing and in his arms needs him.

And he can't feel anything else but a calm sense of relief and happiness as the fragile Hyuga heir forgave his past grudges and mistakes and she refused to leave him and quietly stayed by his side.

Neji is perfectly aware that he is extremely protective of the little kunoichi in his arms to the point that he'd get infuriated at her if she ever causes harm to herself.

_But does that mean that I can use the word 'my'?_

Pale eyes darting left and right and turning his head to get a full view of the area his Byakugan can see. Scanning everything once, twice, thrice... there was nothing to be found.

No bodies, no traces, not one sign.

He scowled and two protective arms wrapped around the unconscious girl, laying limp against him. He cursed himself as he played out the worst possible scenarios in his head. He sighed. And he tried to calm himself down. He deactivated his Byakugan, and his eyes turned to his female client.

She wasn't moving, her face was almost blank and cold, if only her emerald eyes didn't widen as they stared at his cousin. His client's face was much more pale than usual, and his eyes narrowed as he stared at her.

Neji slipped an arm beneath the heiress' knees and back, and wordlessly carried her to his tent.

He laid her gently on a sleeping bag and his slender calloused fingers brushed the strands of dark hair that fell to her face. _I hope that you'll be alright, Hinata-sama._

He covered her with a blanket and left the tent.

Kasumi felt her heart pound in her chest as she heard footsteps approach her. She knows very well who those footsteps belong to, and she slowly turned her face to him, her emerald eyes met his steely ones. His face remained impassive, he didn't utter a single word, but she felt his eyes scrutinize her every being, observing and analyzing every line and twitch of her face. She felt afraid.

"What did you do?" He asked, his voice both quiet and cold.

"Nothing." She spoke quietly, willing herself not to avert her gaze.

He frowned and the crease on the pale skin in between his eyebrows became more prominent.

"Okay, okay." She turned her face away from him as she continued to speak, "She told me that she was in pain. Maybe from too much training. I gave her some medicine, I didn't know that it's sedative effects were very potent."

"Where did you get it?" His eyes was studying her intently, looking for any sign that will give her away.

He knows that Hinata had overworked herself when she trained yesterday with Shino and Kiba, but never once today did she complained about pain. But earlier, when her paces where slowing down, could she really be in pain? But he's sure that he would have noticed it if she did.

"My family's business in Tea Country is manufacturing medicine. I had learned how to create some, and I fortunately carried some painkillers with me. She needed it. It made her sleep, but, at least she won't feel pain anymore, right?" She smiled softly, as she spoke her voice was steady and calm, and she tried not to shiver in the cold night air. "I'm sure that she will wake up in the morning. I'm sorry if I misjudged it's sleep-inducing effect."

He inched closer to his client, and Kasumi's eyes widened and she gasped as she felt his strong hands grip both of her arms tightly, like they're something made of steel. He spoke with his face near hers, the gaze in his silver-tinged orbs, penetrating hers. She didn't dare breathe.

"Don't ever do the same mistake again."

The shinobi turned his back away from her, and let his hand slide across his hair.

He let go of his breath, and it sounded like a sigh.

_I guess I'll be the only one on guard duty tonight._

"Neji-kun" He heard the red-haired woman say.

He is an arm's length away from her, and she felt quite sad at making Neji so upset. She didn't think that he would be this mad. Maybe if she told him whey she did it, he'd understand and forgive her. Maybe he would even thank her. She just wanted to be alone with him.

_I just wanted to be with you._

If that woman didn't come to this escort mission, she wouldn't have to use her drugs, and that means that wouldn't have had happened to her, and Neji wouldn't be mad with her anymore. 'Maybe,'she thought. '...Just maybe.'

She reached out her hand to touch him, her fingers almost brushing against the white fabric on his back.

"Sleep." He said, with a commanding tone in his voice.

"But, I don't-"

"You should sleep." He cut her off, never turning to look at her or face her. He waited for a few moments until he heard footsteps getting lighter and farther away with every step. He heard the opening, and closing of Kasumi's tent, the rustling of the cloth-like fabric of the temporary house, and some peculiar noises like irritated grunts, stomping feet and a growl. Neji shrugged.

He activated his blood-line limit, chakra-filled veins once again appearing around his eyes and cheeks, and as he surveyed the area that thy're in over and over, his view always comes back to the pale opalescent-eyed girl in the tent. Watching closely every breath that she took, constantly counting the rise and fall of her chest.

Neji is no idiot.

He knows the effects of too much depressants in one's system.

He's afraid that she might just stop breathing in air.

He doesn't know the dosage that woman gave her, but he's quite sure that if his delicate cousin ever stops breathing, he wouldn't be able to control himself.

He doesn't want his loved ones to die anymore.

He doesn't want her to die.

The Hyuga prodigy thought about what happened earlier at dinnertime, some bits of food were left uneaten and left to waste on the floor when Hinata fainted.

He remembered the look in Kasumi's eyes when her twin green eyes locked into his cousin who was latched in his arms. There was pain in her eyes, pain, guilt and satisfaction.

He exhaled sharply.

_I have to be careful around her._

_I will not let her harm Hinata again._


	6. Sorry

Disclaimer: I do not own naruto or any of it's characters.

* * *

><p>The sun is starting to rise from the horizon, lighting the sky with an orange flame, turning the dark colors of the night light blue.<p>

Raven-colored eyelashes slowly rose from her bottom eyelid, revealing the pale lavender eyes of the Hyuga Heir.

Hinata just roused from her drug-induced slumber, and she seemed to be too groggy to take everything in. Her body felt heavy and everything looked fuzzy, and all she wanted to do was sleep again. Knowing that she is on a mission, her eyes lazily darted from left to right, and as she blinked, the blur in her vision slowly disappeared, revealing the contents of the tent she was in.

She turned her head to the right, and saw a white-clad figure sitting on the floor, just next to her sleeping bag. She blinked a few times, and she met his pale silver eyes that looked a bit just like hers.

She smiled at the Hyuga genius, "Ohayo." She whispered.

The muscles around Neji's mouth tensed a little, as he restrained a smile of relief. He looked at her intently, assessing the drug's effects on her. He saw that her eyes were a bit unfocused and she is a bit lethargic still, but he knows that those effects are quite common. He inaudibly sighed with relief, he knows that this petite kunoichi will be well.

"How are you feeling Hinata-sama?" He looked straight at her, his gaze penetrating her.

"Um, I-I feel okay. M-maybe just a li-little b-bit thirsty, b-but that's all." She gave him a small smile.

The male Hyuga nodded and handed her a canteen, and as she reached out to take it, her fingers brushed against the white sleeve of his shirt.

The dark-haired shinobi knows that accidental actions like that isn't important, and that they can easily be ignored. She knows that Neji didn't notice nor mind, after all, it's just her fingertips, coming in contact with the light cotton material of his sleeve.

But Hinata treasured little contacts like these. The nerve-endings beneath her fingertips seemed to be excited and inflamed, she wanted to feel him more.

Her body imprinted in her memory the sensation of their rtecent touch, it lingered on her fingertips for a little while.

But she knows that it's not enough for her to feel his warmth, not enough for her to feel his form, not enough for her to feel him.

Hinata blushed at her wandering thoughts thankful that the young jounin was facing away, not seeing the redness on her face that is currently reaching her ears. With his back to her, he walked towards the tent's opening, leaving her still on her sleeping bag.

Reality dawned upon her for a moment, and she asked herself how she ended up here. All the she could remember from the night before was eating dinner with Neji and Kasumi, and nothing else._ And come to think of it,_ she thought to herself, _I didn't go on watch duty._

Her eyes widened at the sudden realization that she didn't do her duties as an escort, and she wondered if Neji was mad at her. _He didn't speak much to me._ But she dismissed the thought because she knows that he doesn't speak much at all.

But she knows that she needs to apologize. She knows that the young jounin takes every one of his missions seriously, no matter what rank it is.

After a few minutes of pondering, she came to the conclusion that she was too tired last night and fainted.

She didn't panic at her fainting, she knows that she does it alot to the point that it's already normal to her. But she reminded herself that she has to control it, she knows that she's not the young genin some years ago, who nearly faints everyday, especially when she comes face to face with a certain blonde-haired boy.

She fixed herself up and left the tent.

* * *

><p>"I-I'm s-s-sorry" He heard her stammer as she walked beside him.<p>

The male Hyuga didn't turn to look at her because he can clearly see her with his activated Kekkei Genkai. Chakra-filled veins were prominent under the pale skin of his cheeks and the area near his eyes, emphasizing the dark circles beneath his orbs, reminding Hinata that she did't do her duty at all.

Knowing that a response from him will never come, the dark-haired kunoichi's head bowed slightly, and so did her shoulders. Her eyes went downcast to her feet, to the grassy earth that she is currently trodding upon. Her hands were hidden behind her, wringing each other.

Hinata is afraid that Neji might be mad at her.

Hinata unconsciously flinched at the memories that flooded her thoughts, memories of when she was still twelve with her hair as short as a boy's, and he was thirteen, with nothing but disdain felt for her.

She remembered the time when Neji called her weak, hurting her in every aspect that he knew. Cutting her deeper and deeper with his actions and words.

She remembered the time when his palm overfilling with chakra made contact with her chest, and the blood running up to her throat, demanding to be to be out, and she had coughed out the copper-tasting red liquid because of it. She fell from the pain.

She remembered when she was trying to stand with the last of her strength, trying to fight back, and for once try to be strong for herself, hoping that he might change, hoping that he'll somehow respect her, and his opinions about her might become more different and good. But as she weakly moved, with her knees threatening to give way under her, and blood was dripping from the corners of her mouth, she nimbly tried to support herself to stand up.

She looked at him, hoping that he might show something, anything that will remind her that her childhood friend is still there inside him.

But he was unfazed.

His face was cool and calm, but the look in his eyes scremed murder.

She rose and shakily stood, and he was ready to hit her back to the ground, determined to make her heart stop.

She shook her head, willing the memories to go away.

The female Hyuga knows that Neji had never been angry at her before, not after he had asked for her forgiveness after the chuunin exams. He repented with his words, actions, expressions, saying that he should have never treated her that way because it was never fully her fault, saying that he's sorry for hurting her, saying that he'll never do it again. At the same time, he had forgiven her for all the sorrow and anguish that she had unknowingly caused him, for their fate that he swore that he is determined to change and, for the death of his father who fought in order for her to be safe.

Right then and there, Hinata realized just how important and powerful words can be. How much it can bring peace and happiness as long as it's truthful and meant, and with those words she just heard her cousin speak, she felt like she was so light; like a huge boulder had been lifted off her shoulders, and a thick stone wall had been crushed between them two, allowing them to freely talk and laugh with each other, and to catch up and make up for all the times that they had lost or wasted, and for all the years that they spent caged in the agony of hate and betrayal.

With those words that he said, and were embedded in her heart, Neji unknowingly freed her from all the hate, from all the blame and all the pain.

He mended and healed her wounds in an instant,

And with that, he promised to fulfill his duty as her protector-A title and an obligation given to him since he was a child but had never done.

But he had changed,

And true to his word, Neji had protected her numerous times.

From the enemy shinobis in the missions that they were in together,

From the prying eyes of the expectant clan members,

From the hurtful words of the Hyuga council,

And from her disappointed father.

And besides all that, he also protected her from herself.

_But if he is mad..._

"What are you thinking about?" The dark-haired male's voice broke through her line of thoughts.

"N-nothing." She shivered at the coldness in his voice and the thought of the thirteen-year old Neji. She doesn't want to go back to the past anymore, she doesn't want him to hate her anymore.

"You were never a good liar Hinata-sama." He said, voice still emotionless but sharp.

Hinata hesitated before speaking, but she summed all her courage up to say it anyway, "A-are y-you mad... a-at me?" Her eyes remained fixed on the ground, never meeting his.

"No." He replied. The young jounin looked at her with his byakugan wondering how in the world did she get that idea.

"I-I'm sorry f-for last n-night." She wrung her hands tighter. "I-I d-di-didn't get to substitute o-on g-guard d-duty... I-it's m-m-my fault that y-you didn't g-get to s-sleep." Guilt was evident in her features, and her nails dug into her pale, fragile flesh.

His hand swiftly went behind her and his strong fingers encircled her wrist and he pulled it to him, revealing fresh red marks that she had just recently placed on herself. "I'm not angry." He said in a low tone, "But I will be, if you don't stop this."

He released her arm, and it flopped down beside her, back into place. "Y-yes..." She said as quietly as a mouse, eyes still on the ground, not wanting to meet his gaze. She's disappointed with herself.

"But," Neji began, "Starting today, you're the only one who will cook. Is that understood, Hinata-sama?"

Confusion played over the shinobi's features for a moment, but she shrugged it off and agreed.

"Y-yes."


	7. Doubt

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.

* * *

><p>Kasumi's hair shone under the sun, the fiery-red color intensified as it caught glimpses of the radiated light that was peeking from the tree leaves. Her emerald eyes glinted and looked more like precious jewels as they contrasted against the red locks that framed her face and her pale skin. Her cheekbones are high and her nose looked quite delicate. Her yellow kimono made her look like a perfect lady of elegance, with her golden-colored obi and the intricate design of pink fragile-looking sakura blossoms that seemed to spot and shower her kimono. She is the epitome of elegance. Her features and gestures seemed to reflect her prestigious upbringing.<p>

But her painted lips were tilted downwards forming a small frown as she eyed her male escort.

It had been weeks and the tree travelers are nearing Tea Country, and the day Kasumi had been fearing is coming nearer and nearer with ever step that they took, and every tree that they've passed on the way. Her perfectly manicured hands formed a fist and clenched tightly at her frustration and in her inability to form an intimate relationship with the male Hyuga which had been her goal from the start.

The former captive didn't want to be separated from her savior.

Her lids closed and hid her green orbs, and her mouth opened slightly as she gave out a small sigh.

_If I don't do something, I'll never see Neji-kun again._

She paused from walking, and her two escorts turned to face her, wondering why she suddenly stopped. The female of the two stared at her confusedly for a moment and asked, "Um, Kasumi-san, a-are y-you tired? D-d-do y-you want t-to rest f-for a while?" Concern was evident in Hinata's features as she observed her client with her pale-lavender eyes for any signs of exhaustion. They had been walking for hours anyway, and it's already getting late.

Annoyed by her escort's stuttering and her failure, the skin between Kasumi's eyebrows formed obvious creases and her emerald eyes glinted with frustration that she had been trying so hard to hide.

"Um, Kasumi-san? Is something wrong?" Hinata asked. _Maybe something's hurting. Her feet, maybe?_

The client closed her eyes and swiftly turned her head. "I want to rest." She said in a sharp, commanding tone.

She grunted, but too soft and small to be heard.

_It's all because of her._ She thought bitterly. _She's the reason why Neji is so far away, if she had never come here..._

Her resentment was becoming more evident on her face, the used-to-be faint outlines of infuriation became more darker and clearer, forming shadows against the pale whiteness of her skin.

Neji quirked an eyebrow at her, a little bit surprised at the change in her demeanor and voice. In the past few weeks that the three of them had been together, Kasumi had always spoken in a voice that is so soft and feathery, that you'd have to strain to hear it. Her tone was always so gentle and she had always been so polite, that Neji just smirked to himself as he wondered if this girl before him is the real Kasumi.

Watching her client turn in for the night in her own tent, the Hyuga heiress dropped to her bottom, landing on the soft, lush grass and gave out a small sigh of relief. She pulled her knees up to her chest and stared at the bonfire before her that Neji made. Her arms and legs felt a bit heavy and she bit her lip in annoyance, telling herself that she shouldn't think ill thoughts about her client because it's her duty to protect her and maybe even serve her until they reach tea Country. _Good thing it's only a few days away_, she thought.

* * *

><p>"Are you okay Hinata-sama?" The male Hyuga with silver-tinged eyes asked her with his voice as cool as the night's air.<p>

Looking up at him, she softly smiled and nodded. "J-just a bit tired." She replied.

"Hm." He eyed her carefully, his eyes keenly observing her arms, her legs, her face with marks of annoyance and irk, and her clothes that was dusted with brown dirt contrasting with the white unmarked cloth of his own. She is obviously tired and frustrated. "She had been pushing you too hard?"

The female kunoichi sighed, closed her eyes and shook her head in sadness and confusion. "Yes. I d-don't know w-what's wrong Neji-nii... K-kasumi-san seems t-to b-be mad at me... a-and... a-and..." She closed her mouth shut, not knowing what words to use. She doesn't want to talk bad about their client.

"...and ordering you around like a dog?" Neji continued.

Her shoulders slumped as the truth in his words reached her ears. "Y-yes." She squeaked.

"And... t-the food..." She continued, but suddenly decided to stop. Her head slightly tilted downwards at the memory of what happened earlier at dinner time. When she cooked and handed her beautiful client a plate, and Kasumi, after taking one bite-the bit of food coming in contact with the inside of her mouth-she then suddenly spat it out, and said something like, it's the most horrible thing that she had tasted in her life.

"D-did i-it really t-taste that bad?" She asked him, her voice soft, quiet and barely heard, she did not raise her head or eyes to look at him.

"No" The older Hyuga said as he shrugged his shoulder; some of his long brown locks rose and fell with them as it attached to the cloth of his shirt. "I actually like it."

Hinata looked up at him, meeting his silver gaze, her mouth never moved to speak, but her eyes spoke of nothing but gentle gratitude. Happy to be appreciated by her protector, even if he said it using only a few words. And she perfectly knows the fact that to him, it doesn't matter at all, but to her, those words mean so much more.

The young genius wouldn't admit to her that to him, she's the best cook in the world, and how much he loathed going on missions where he had to cook for himself, or worse, his teammates would insist on cooking for him.

He ran his hand through his brown-colored hair and quietly sat down beside the indigo-haired female. His face was turned towards the yellow flame before them, feeling it's radiated heat against the exposed flesh of his face and neck.

"Don't worry" he murmured to her, his eyes never leaving the dancing flames ahead, "It's only a few days left before we reach Tea Country and return back to Konoha."

She nodded and her lips turned into a small smile, the second one that she gave him this night.

Allowing her body to relax and let go of all the stress that happened the past few days involving her strange client, Hinata breathed deeply, in and out, her chest rising and falling with every ounce of air that she took in or exhaled. Neji watched her silently from the corner of his eye, his body unmoving. She placed a hand on the grass between them, her fingers unconsciously brushing against the brown cloth tied around his waist and feeling the soft grass tickling the rough skin of her palm.

She held her breath for a moment as her ears listened to the gentle rhythm of the silver-eyed jounin's breathing. She matched his relaxed pace and in that moment of peace, she felt the small urge tugging inside her to move her body closer to him. Close enough to feel his body move even if it's just by an inch, close enough to feel his breath against her skin, close enough to feel the steady rhythm of his heart beat, wanting to hear it until she falls asleep.

Eyes wide, resisting to sleep to make this time with him longer, she stared up at the ink-black sky, her eyes focusing on the solitary orb of light peeking against the grey clouds of the night.

And something inside is telling her that they remind her of a certain Hyuga's eyes.

"What did you say, Hinata-sama?" Neji blinked at her, a small tinge of confusion was evident in the rising of his brows that seemed to mar the permanent stoic appearance of his face.

"W-what?" She asked. Confused.

"The moon, what about it?" He continued. His face turning away from her and and tilting up, wondering to himself what she saw so interesting about something permanently placed on the night sky. Something that she can almost see every night.

"O-oh... That..." She looked down at her small, delicate hands as she pushed her index fingers together, her face heating up with an embarrassed red tint. "Y-your eyes." Neji's silver-tinged orbs looked down at her. "The m-moon r-reminds me o-of your eyes."

He smirked.

"Oh? Why is that?" His tone half-amused.

She shifted uncomfortably, feeling his gaze never leaving her. She bit her lip, wondering to herself how stupidly she acts around him.

"I-it looks j-just like y-yours. Same c-color, s-same shape."

_All seeing, all knowing. Mysterious, silent, and beautiful._

_Hypnotizing. Like, I can easily be drawn to them, and lose myself in it's depth._

Her throat ran dry at her unsaid thoughts, and Neji is smirking still.

After a few moments, the air became more chilly and Neji told her to rest. Hinata nodded, obeying the older Hyuga, and silently walked towards her tent

* * *

><p>Inky black locks of long dark hair were scattered everywhere, staining the floor of her tent and pale skin. Hinata could barely sleep, but she kept her eyes shut, and her body still, pretending to repose, knowing that the person outside has his Kekkei Genkai activated, and he would know that she's still awake.<p>

Trying hard to fall asleep, her thoughts unwantedly wandered, thinking about her mission, then her family, then her home, then her thoughts turned to the person outside her tent.

_Is it wrong to love him?_ She asked herself, squinting her eyes shut.

Marriage between cousins is not forbidden nor uncommon in her clan, or among all the other clans in Konoha who wished to keep their bloodline pure. But intermarriage between the Branch House and the Main House had never happened before, nor had it been requested or approved of. Or even just heard for that matter.

She doesn't exactly know when she had developed feelings for the Hyuga genius, but she suspected that it had been when he became more gentle towards her, when he became more supporting. When instead of Naruto, Neji became her hope, believing in her when she is losing hope in herself, he is the reason why she wanted to change, to be strong.

That maybe someday he'll need her just like she needs him,

and she'll be able to protect him, just as how he had always been protecting her.

She remembered that he always told her to get up and never give every punch and kick that she took, and every weapon that tore and pierced her skin in training, he would always be there, silent, strong and unwavering, looking at her with eyes that spoke in words that she couldn't hear but always understand.

She understood him best, because she knows how to read all the emotions that lay in his eyes that he had always tried to hide.

_I'll be stronger for you Neji._

She knows that when they were still young about twelve and thirteen, Neji used to talk with hatred about their fate and how unchangeable it is; but after losing his battle with Naruto and his views had changed, he started to believe in her more. Saying that she can be strong if she tried hard enough, if she trained more. And he promised her to help her. Hinata admits that her progress had been slow compared to that of her peers and especially her younger sister, but never did she see or feel Neji's chagrin in her, with her every defeat and fall, she would look into his eyes and it always looked cold, containing not even a flicker of emotion. No pity, pride or malicious happiness within his pale orbs, she was happy that that there's no disappointment there, but she can always feel her disappointment with herself.

But despite his coldness in her failures, his steely-white eyes seemed to soften and shine with a bit of pride whenever she mastered a skill, managed to defeat an opponent or come back from a high-ranking mission. That look in his eyes made her smile and her inside melt with joy that she's determined to see it again, even if it's just a glimpse. It had always stayed on his face for only a second, and his impassive expression seemed to take over again.

And in her determination to make Neji proud of her, she became stronger, and that made her protector and trainer all the more happy, and she sees his eyes shine.

_But will we be together?_

She groaned weakly, turning on her side and clutching her warm blanket.

_Ten-ten-chan..._

Hinata bit the inside of her cheek at the sudden thought of her friend.

She knows that the brown-haired kunoichi had interests for the Hyuga genius. But if he likes her too, she doesn't know.

She avoided seeing him train with her, afraid of what she might see. Afraid of their interaction, afraid of being just second in his attention.

Her mind went back to the time when Ten-ten was sitting beside her, in a small ice cream shop near the marketplace. She had been confused at first at the invitation, and she had been more confused when she arrived, with only the weapons-master before her, and no Neji in sight.

She clearly remembered the older woman's motions as she waved for her to sit, and how she ate her strawberry flavored ice cream, and her own was almost melting, barely touched. Uncomfortable at the other woman's attempts to make her talk about the likes and dislikes of the silver-eyed Hyuga.

Hinata wanted to be selfish then, to keep all the precious information to herself. She held them all dearly to her, because it allowed her to understand him best. She wants to be the only one who will be able to comfort him and maybe even predict his movements and thoughts when the time comes, but the bright, expectant, pleading eyes of the older shinobi made her sigh and give up, crushing the wall that she had built up between the two of them answering the older shinobi's question about the one that she adored.

_He had always told me that I'm too soft-hearted._ She sighed.

And most of all, she doesn't know what to feel or say, when the weapons mistress took hold of her hands with gentleness, her rough palms being held by the older woman's elegant hands, her calloused flesh against the softer woman's skin, she stared at their hands for a moment, wondering to herself how strange that is, a kunoichi with soft hands. But her curious thoughts were shattered when she heard the soft words that left the brunette's mouth.

"I'm inlove with Neji-kun...

Please wish me luck on our date tonight."


	8. Stay

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.

* * *

><p>The Hyuga heiress twisted and turned dreaming in her slumber as the three of them camped for the night.<p>

The male shinobi was on first watch, his all-seeing eyes searching for any suspicious signs or traces carelessly left by enemy ninjas, while the red-haired client was lying stiffly in her tent, silent and awake.

It had been a few hours, and Kasumi knows that her female escort is sound asleep, she made her work hard today, and after dinner, she heard her groan in pain and fatigue. Rising up slowly to her feet, she crouched and walked towards the opening of her tent, unzipping the entrance with perfectly manicured fingers, she pushed her face towards the opened slit, and her green-colored orbs darted left and right to find her savior.

_He wasn't there._

Observant emerald orbs carefully eyed her environment, and she was vaguely frightened by the darkness engulfing the forest. The bonfire was put out, slivers of smoke was emanating from the dying embers, the heated red glow was slowly fading into black.

But she took a deep breath to boost he courage and fully pulled the tent's zipper, and she stepped out of her warm temporary shelter with cautious feet and eyes that were wide as her lids were pulled back by the muscles on her face, as if she's looking for something that isn't there.

_Tea country is only three days away._ She thought to herself, _This is my last chance._

Trembling and not used to the darkness, she daintily stepped and moved her feet, going to where she thinks the male Hyuga is.

The moon is being covered by dark-grey clouds, and the shadows from the trees over her head made everything darker, even engulfing her, and the cold night air was penetrating her kimono with a single breeze, making her shiver down to her spine. Blindly, she stretched her arms before her, feeling the rough barks of the trees with the pads of her fingertips, as she silently dragged her feet against the ground, scared of tripping and bumping the cold hard rocks that littered the area.

Everything was so still and silent, that she could only hear her breath.

But the absence of sound was disrupted as a bush to her left shook and rustled.

Startled, she turned her body to face it, and took a step back, afraid of what it might be.

_A bear? A snake? What is it?_

The frightened girl paled as the bush shook more violently and two glistening yellow eyes were staring back at her, followed by a small hiss.

She gave a yelp of sudden shock and surprise and quickly turned away and ran towards their camp site.

She ran and ran, not caring if it was dark, not caring if she was blinded by the darkness of the forest surrounding her.

She gave a scream of pain, her lids shut tightly as one of the small rocks that had littered the area had caught her foot and she tripped, her fragile body hit the ground with a loud thud.

She didn't get up nor move, a sharp pain was radiating from her ankle, and she was afraid that it will intensify if she moved her lower limbs. She felt something warm and wet dripping from her temples and she reached her hand to touch it.

_Blood._

Her eyes widened in disbelief, not knowing how sharp and how numerous the rocks surrounding their area were.

She heard another bush rustle, and she stared at it, wide-eyed with terror, asking herself if this is her end.

Kasumi held her breath wishing to faint from the lack of air and die before even meeting the animal that lay hidden behind it.

But she let go and exhaled, as a pair of pupiless-white eyes stared back at her with agitation and concern. He sprinted towards her and crouched down to pick her delicate body up, his brows were creased slightly, and his lips were turned into a frown.

But she didn't mind any of that.

What matters to her now is that she's in his arms yet once again, her blood stained face resting against his hard, muscled chest, she can hear his breathing, his warm breath slightly grazing her sweat-soaked hair, and tingling the sensitive nerves of her skin, and she can hear the rhythmic pounding of the heart in his chest.

Her savior saved her once again,

She closed her eyes.

* * *

><p>"N-Neji-nii? What happened t-to K-Kasumi-san?" The female Hyuga asked with wide opalescent eyes as she carefully stared at the unconscious woman being carried by her cousin's arms. Her long black hair was still in a bit of a mess, and so were her clothes. She had just recently woken up, startled by the sound of a woman's scream outside.<p>

Hinata froze, seeing her client come to harm. She saw Kasumi's blood tricking down her small chin from the cut on her forehead, almost matching the hue of her red hair. It stained her pale skin, and the soft, pure white fabric of Neji's shirt with it's crimson color.

"She might have been trying to look for me." He said quietly as he laid her down on a sleeping bag.

"Can you try to heal her?"

"I c-can close th-the wound." Silently, the white-eyed heiress went over to where her client lay. Hinata focused her healing chakra on her pale hands and fingertips, making it glow bright-green. She then placed her hand over Kasumi's forehead, accelerating the healing process of the cut. Her eyes trailed the fragile woman's form, and her eyes got caught by the woman's swollen ankles. Neji took his eyes off the female kunoichi's glowing hands, and followed the view of her eyes. "A sprain." He muttered. "Y-yes." Hinata answered, unsure if she should have. Neji wasn't really asking a question. "Can you heal it?" He asked. "I-I'm not sure. I h-have only t-tried h-healing minor c-cuts and b-bruises b-before." She admitted and went silent for a moment, "B-but m-maybe I c-can t-try." The male Hyuga nodded at her reply.

Hinata's hand flew over to her client's inflamed ankle, when she gently touched it, it gave off a small amount of heat, but enough to make the heiress flinch with worry. It was probably the worst case of sprain that she had ever saw, she was quite thankful for the fact that the emerald-eyed civilian was unconscious or else she might not be able to bear the pain.

The indigo-haired female hands glowed furiously as she closed her eyes and concentrated on the torn ligaments, healing them faster than nature's time, patching them up one by one. After an hour or so, some of the redness and swelling had subsided, and the female Hyuga can only hope that there will not be too much pain once she had woken up.

"I d-don't think she w-would be able to w-walk. She turned her face to Neji, her worried eyes meeting his calm ones.

"Hn." He answered.

They sat in silence for a minute, no one making even the smallest amount of sound. Their breathing was too silent even, and so were their sleeping client. Hinata had wondered if she had stopped breathing, but the steady rising and falling of the woman's chest seemed to say otherwise. She turned her head to give a quick glance at Neji, his slender fingers were creating a something that she couldn't make out with a flat piece of wood and some cloth.

"We might need to go to the nearest village." Neji's voice seemed to melt in the silence.

"Oh, w-why?" The heiress inquired.

"She doesn't look too well, and she won't be able to move around. It might be better if she rests in a more proper place." The Hyuga genius said as he moved nearer to Kasumi and immobilized her injured ankle with the makeshift splint that he had just created.

"O-okay. I-I'm going t-to pack up." She rose up and went out the tent and prepared for their journey to the nearest village. Hinata knows that their trek to the village would not take long, it will only be just be a few hours walk, but she also knows that it will delay their arrival to Tea Country. She inaudibly sighed, but this is for her client's health.

The sun was starting to rise, but the chilly morning air didn't seem to disappear, the pale-eyed woman, with her gentle hands packed everything up. She slung her bag on her shoulders and she she exhaled; she was ready to go. Her cousin called out to her, indicating that they will be leaving.

The young jounin was carrying the still-unconscious woman in his arms, he didn't say anything, he never did complain, even if he lost another night of sleep again.

To Hinata he looked quite tired, to her it's all very obvious as she gazes at his face. She knows him well, terribly well. She knows all the faintest lines on his face, she knows the new ones and the old ones that had faded, she knows every shadow and circle that everybody misses.

She knows that he's tired and in need of rest.

She hope that they would arrive faster so that her protector can rest.

* * *

><p>"So, what room will you take?" asked the inn keeper as he eyed the thee travelers through his circular spectacles. He is quite short and stubby, his fingers were a little pink and fat with thick golden bands studded with small jewels wrapped around it's base. Neji could tell that the innkeeper's smile was friendly, genuine, and it didn't give any sign of danger. He found relief at that fact, because he seriously wants to rest, even if it's just for a little while.<p>

The innkeeper thought that the three travelers standing before him were pretty unusual, two, both with long hair and very uncommon pale-looking eyes, and one obviously injured woman with fiery-red hair was slumped on the man's back. The innkeeper thought that she seemed to stand out, because she was a bit different-looking from the two.

_Maybe it's the hair,_ he thought.

But he just shrugged, _Customers are customers. They pay and that's all that matters._

Hinata turned to her stoic brown-haired companion, "Um, three rooms for th-the three of u-us, Neji-nii?"

"No, just two." He answered.

"Two?" She asked, a bit confused why, she wanted to ask something but chose to keep her mouth shut. _Where am I going to sleep? Where are you going to sleep?_

"We need to cut back on expenses Hinata-sama." He answered coldly. "We have to hire a medic for Kasumi-san, and also manage our remaining money for food and lodging, seeing as we might stay here for a while."

"Oh." She said, understanding. Hinata then turned to the still-grinning inn-keeper. "T-two r-rooms please."

The innkeeper nodded, "And how many beds in each room, young lady?" His suggestive-grin turned wider in amusement making his eyes look like slits beneath his gold-rimmed glasses as the pale-long haired woman's cheeks blushed red. "U-uhh... One will be a single-bed r-room and t-the other o-one..." She somehow managed to force out of her mouth and she looked down to her feet.

_A room containing a single bed is cheaper... but..._ She felt her hot blush creep down to her neck and bowed lower, hoping that her dark colored bangs will hide her face. She fidgeted with her fingers, not knowing what to say. _I've never shared a bed with anyone before, let alone a boy!_ But she remembered that they used to sleep side by side a kids. But that's the problem, they were kids then.

"Two beds." The male traveler said.

"Oh," The innkeeper said as his mouth formed a small 'O' and he continued to speak, "But a room with one bed costs less!" His wider grin looked like it's occupying half of his face.

"Hn." Neji said looking a little bit impatient and repeated in a deadpan voice, "Two beds." His back and arms were starting to hurt and he wished that the innkeeper would just stop all the chatter and just give them the keys to their room.

As if the chubby innkeeper heard his thoughts, he reached something on the drawer under his desk and tossed them the keys and said "Good day." then tilted his head gracefully into a bow.

The two escorts nodded and went to their rooms.

* * *

><p>Kasumi's eyes weakly cracked open, and she felt a dull pain in her ankle. She didn't want to move but she let her emerald-like orbs dash left and right, keenly observing the unfamiliar room that she's in.<p>

_Where am I?_ She asked herself.

She almost panicked, and she would, only if she had the strength to do so.

She had thought that she's in her own country, in her own room, laying on her bed, but she didn't recognize any of the cheap furniture and plain white-washed walls, also, she knows that she had not yet reached it because a fuzzy image of an auburn-haired jounin with opalescent eyes was sitting in a chair placed against a wall, adjacent to her bed.

The small pink flower placed on a drawer near her bed was barely giving any scent.

"How are you feeling?" Neji asked as he tilted his head up to look at her.

Kasumi did not speak, his voice sounded distant to her, almost intelligible, and she feels oddly tired. Her hands weakly curled up on her blanket and she panted. Her body felt cold and hot at the same time. She closed her eyes shut and her lips were partly open letting out a hot breath.

Neji walked over to her and placed his hand on her forehead. His calloused palms and fingers brushed against the softness of her face, with thin, small locks of her red hair sticking to her skin, a little damp with her sweat. He exhaled, as he feet her burning temperature underneath his hand.

_I have to call the medic again, or Hinata._

And he thought to himself how much trouble this girl gave him ever since he saved her.

First, she wouldn't stop talking, then she drugged the person he was supposed to protect, then she kept on clinging to him like one of those funny-smelling ointments that he can't wash off his skin.

Now, this.

He frowned and shook his head.

He was never good at taking care of sick people. That's a med-nin's job.

And he's pretty sure that he's not that.

The young genius sighed and withdrew his hand from her forehead, but his hand stopped and became suspended in midair when her lids slowly pulled back revealing her bright-green eyes. Her hands suddenly moved and reached out, catching his hands, and she gently enclosed her pale hands in between his. Her small, delicate hands felt a little hot and sweaty against his. Maybe it's because of the fever.

Kasumi's jade eyes were unfocused but pleading, and her mouth weakly opened to speak,

"Please don't leave me." She whispered, her feathery soft voice diffusing into the air.

"Stay here."

Her voice was so feeble, almost full of breath, but he didn't answer, he just looked at her with eyes as white and cold as ice, and an expression that never showed anything. His sculpted lips were set in a firm straight line, and she knows that they will never let any words out.

As if it was a sign of defeat, she let go of his hands.

Silence lingered on for minutes, and she looked away, and closed her eyes.

The young jounin observed her fragile form and waited until the movement of her shoulders became slower, steady and more relaxed.

Knowing that she's asleep, he silently stood up from the wooden chair that he had been sitting on, and his hand quietly turned the door handle and slipped out.


	9. Whisper

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters.

And to those who reviewed (SubtleQuirk, Little Benzai-Ten & SarcasticScript) thank you so much!  
>I'm glad that you guys liked it, I thought it was kinda boring since everything is kinda slow-paced.<p>

And to the other readers: I'm sorry that some of my chapters are quite short.

But I do try to update as fast as I can since I have tons of free time. Premed is not really that busy. (Well, for now.)

* * *

><p>The two Hyugas stood side by side, the white-washed wall of Kasumi's room stood behind them. They stood with their bodies facing their client's bed; watching, guarding, scrutinizing and looking for any signs of their client's improvement. The female kunoichi's pale eyes were downcast to her feet and her small fingers seemed to scratch and brush away an invisible spot of dirt embedded on her jacket. The male was standing just inches away from her, his cold eyes were staring at the two forms before him, observing their each and every move. His chin was up and dignified. His shoulders never slumped, and his face never moved.<p>

Kasumi is laying on her bed, face up, her back firmly placed on the mattress and oblivious to her surroundings as she slept with a damp cloth placed on her forehead. Her lids are closed and her breathing is rhythmic and steady. Her plain yellow yukata would have naturally made her look more sickly and pale, but her health had been improving and the healthy pinkish color of her cheeks had returned.

Her eyebrows twitched a little, and her hand clutched her plain white blanket forming a fist, wrinkling the thin cotton material. As if in her dream, she doesn't want to let go.

A small woman was standing on the foot of her breath, with a small clipboard in hand and a bag full of medicines and medical supplies placed on the wooden floor just next to her. The medic's dark brown eyes that radiated knowledge and confidence in her art was intently observing the red-haired patient before her. She scribbled a few times on her clipboard with her pen and draw nearer to the sleeping woman with small silent steps and hovered her hand glowing with green healing chakra over her patient's body. She nodded once as if answering an inaudible question and turned to the two Hyugas just behind her. She pushed her glasses up to her nose and spoke, "Her fever is going down, and her sprain is healing fine. Prefect, even. After two or three days, she'll be good to go."

"W-won't she n-need any medicine?" The female kunoichi asked in her soft, worried voice.

"No, not anymore. She's in no pain and the fever will go down naturally." The medic answered.

After some minutes of silence, the proud male escort nodded, thanked her and watched as she packed up her bags of medicines and equipment and walked out of the room.

Hinata walked over to Kasumi, and gently reached for the white piece of cloth on her forehead, she removed it, placed it in a basin and replaced it with another one, with the same whiteness, same type of fabric and same wetness to it.

She turned her face to her cousin, "I-I can t-take watch of h-her." She said.

"We can switch in the afternoon."

"O-okay." She replied.

* * *

><p>Neji turned the key on the doorknob to their room and opened the wooden door; it was was unpainted and thin, with their room number placed on the outside, etched in a small metal bar. It closed silently with a barely audible click and without any noisy creaking. He was thankful that it didn't make too much noise since he had noticed that a lot of non-sliding doors tend to do that, and if that happened he might have unfortunately woken up the woman with dark hair sleeping in one of the beds.<p>

He took some silent steps, and glanced at the poorly furnished room he is in. It only had two wooden beds, two plain bedside drawers next to each bed, a small table in one corner with two chairs and a cheap red circular rug in the middle. Even though he had stayed in numerous inns during missions, he had never gotten used to surroundings as shabby as this. Whenever he would enter places that he would be temporarily staying in, he would always find himself comparing every room, hallway, furniture and decoration with those found in the Hyuga house. In the Hyuga house, everything had been picked, bought and placed in position with utmost care, with each little thing bringing harmony and elegance to where it had been placed. Every wooden furniture would be made by skilled hands, forming intricately beautiful designs and coated with an excellent type of varnish until it glistens and shines. And to him, even the Branch House part of the Hyuga compound was way better than this. It can never compare to the luxury and superior quality of those found in the Main House's, but the Hyugas had been raised valuing aesthetics and elegance in their surroundings, resulting in very well-maintained and clean rooms and beautiful furniture and decors.

His eyes turned to the figure serenely sleeping in one of the beds, the white cotton sheets covering her was hugging her delicate form and the moon light was penetrating the uncovered glass window and illuminating her pale skin, making her look ethereal. The girlish innocence she had retained from childhood was evident on her face, and more prominent in her features as she slept, and to him, she looked like an immaculate goddess or angel of some sort.

To him, she seemed to glow.

The young genius shrugged and walked to his bed and slipped under the covers; the firm mattress felt good on his back, since it kinda hurt from sitting in an uncomfortable wooden chair from noon to night. His eyes unconsciously shifted as he was propping up his pillows, and made him take a quick look at her. He had noticed that her hair had gotten quite long, when she shifted and some locks of her shiny hair cascaded and fell on to the floor, and her pale white, unblemished skin had elegantly become more prominent as it contrasted against the night's shadows and the darkness of her hair. _She is glowing_. He said to himself as if he was confirming his earlier thoughts.

Then, as if embarrassed by how much his pale-silver eyes lingered on her, he quickly shook his head, his brown locks followed his movements and he turned to his side with his back facing her.

After a few minutes, the tension on his shoulders had lessened and disappeared, and it seemed to relax, his breathing also became slower and more regular, and sensing that the brown-haired male had fallen into slumber, eyelids slowly opened and blinked, like the gentle fluttering of a butterfly's wings, and revealed lavender-tinged opalescent eyes.

She looked at his broad back, and her hands, with her fingers uncurled, slowly went to the edge of her bed, her slender fingers were stretched out to him, as if she was trying to reach him, trying to touch him.

But she never did.

Her pink lips parted and opened, letting out whispers that formed soft words.

"Neji-nii..." Her small voice sounded much like a breath.

"...I wish that we can stay like this longer..." She felt quite bold and courageous with his back facing her, and knowing that his eyes are closed, unable to see her face or look into her eyes; and he is also unable to hear the words coming out of her mouth.

Her shyness and stuttering seemed to disappear with his consciousness.

"...I wish I can be with you more... I am quite afraid, that I'll never get to see you once you're ANBU. And, if I can, I would stop you..." She paused thinking of her words. She felt selfish, but it felt good to let it out. She felt a bit free. "... But I won't, because I know that you want it."

Her eyes started to moisten, and tears threatened to fall, but she she silently held it back, not letting even a whimper or sniffle come out from her. She put on a brave but gentle face, but she knows that he can't see her.

She sadly smiled to herself, "I know that your clan duties to me and to the family had been keeping you from attaining some of your goals, so that's why..."

She wanted to say the next words to him but, a part of her didn't want to. It felt hard for her, like it's a confession, or like, saying it means that she won't be able to hold on to something anymore, she knows that once she says it, she has to let go.

"...so that's why...once we return to Konoha, I'm setting you free Neji-nii. I won't be your responsibility anymore."

She exhaled slowly, and with the letting go of her held breath, her hot tears unwantedly fell.

Her fingers remained stretched out to him, but it never went past the edge of her bed.


	10. Courage

**Author's Not**e: O hey, another chapter here. And I'm almost finished with the next one. Why do I update so fast, you ask? I have absolutely nothing to do. College isn't that busy yet (Thank goodness!) And I don't have hospital work right now. But it will resume in January though.

To all who reviewed (SubtleQuirk, SarcasticScript, Little Benzai-Ten, athcagaluv and Sairey13), thank you so much! You guys keep me motivated~ And I will always put your 'typed' words to mind. It kinda means a lot to me, so, thanks again.

**Disclaime**r: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.

* * *

><p><strong>Bonds – Chapter 10<strong>

"Neji-kun!" The red-haired woman beamed a smile at him as he entered her room.

"Kasumi-san." He nodded a bow, "I brought your dinner." He quietly a tray of hot food for his client, clutched in between his hands, he walked over to the small wooden table in her room and placed it there. He really would have made Hinata do this, but their once-gentle client had been unusually hostile to the shy kunoichi. So, he had no choice, lest he wants to see the dear heiress wear this hurt expression on her face.

He is her protector after all.

The male with opalescent eyes opened his mouth to speak again, "We shall be leaving tomorrow."

Her head suddenly jerked up to him in surprise, her long red hair following her movements."What? So soon?"

"Hn." He replied. He never moved from his place near the wooden table, nor did the client from her bed.

"Can't we stay longer?" She asked, her emerald-colored orbs narrowed with sadness and disappointment, and her pink lips curved into a frown and parted, waiting for an answer she doesn't want to hear.

"We cannot." The male escort said with his silent but authoritative voice. "We are already late as it is."

"No." Her delicate eyebrows twitched and she doesn't know if she should be disappointed or angry. "I'm the client here, I requested this mission. And I want to stay here longer." _And if I can, I wouldn't want to go back. _

"Kasumi-san, we can't." He paused for a while and waited for further protest from his fuming client, but there was none, so he continued, "We were given only a certain amount of time to accomplish this mission. If we are unable to complete this by then, the Hokage would dispatch search parties for us."

Kasumi loudly exhaled, fully knowing that her battle was lost, and she didn't dare to say anymore.

His eyes never left the person that he's speaking to, and he noticed that her eyes were suspiciously moist.

* * *

><p>Kasumi had recovered fully and much to the female shinobi's dismay, it's their last night in the inn. Neji had informed her earlier that they will be leaving at dawn, and she had already packed her bag with food and other necessities for their journey. Her kunais were already sharpened, and so were her shurikens, and she's ready to go tomorrow, the only problem is that, she doesn't want to.<p>

She knows that Tea Country is only some days away, and once they had successfully accomplished their mission and Kasumi is back to her home and family, they would have to journey back to Konoha. And once they had returned, she has to keep her word that he's going to be set free from his duties to her, and that means that if he doesn't want to be around her, he can just easily avoid her. Aside from that, once they get back, Hinata knows that Neji's initiation ceremony into the ANBU will begin. And she has this sinking feeling inside of her that she might never see him again.

The heiress sighed softly.

"Hinata-sama? Is there something wrong?" The young jounin looked at her and the dinner that she had barely touched.

"O-oh...um, N-nothing. I-I'm sorry." She stammered an apology and bit her lip. There are questions nagging her on the back of her mind, but being a kunoichi for more than five years, she already knows the answers to them, but she wants to hear it from him nevertheless. "Neji-nii... ummm..." She begun and paused, trying to word each question on her mind. _When we get back to Konoha, will I be able to see you again?_

"What is it?" He asked, putting his chopsticks down.

"Ummm... W-when will you b-become ANBU?" She inhaled and placed her hands under the table and on her lap.

"Once we return." He said, his voice was sounding aloof and unconcerned.

"O-oh... Um, in A-ANBU, how long w-will your m-missions take?" Her head was slightly tilted down, not wanting their identical eyes to meet. Even though her face is currently hidden by her indigo-colored bangs, she tries to keep the emotions on her face from showing. Hinata knows very well that he can understand even the slightest twitch in one's face.

"It can be weeks, months or even years. It depends on the mission's difficulty and how fast we will be able accomplish it." Neji sounded confused for a bit. _Doesn't she already know this? _"But the average mission usually takes some months to complete."

Her right hand grasped the small fingers on her left hand and squeezed. "O-oh..." She said. "Ummm... What about our trainings?"

"I will not be able to train you anymore. I'm sorry." There was something that tinged his voice, making it sound less detached than usual, but when she quickly glanced up at his face, his features remained as expressionless as ever. She almost dismissed it, thinking that her ears are playing tricks on her, but somehow, she wants herself to believe that Neji is actually feeling something for going away. Sadness, maybe?

The young jounin waited for her to ask more, but she never did.

Silence lingered on for minutes, and he noticed that her head didn't move up from her bow. Neji was not quite sure why, but he is feeling quite uneasy. And he had this little urge to place his hand under her chin at tilt her head up so that he will be able to see her pale eyes.

There is something wrong, he knows it. But he was not really quite sure what he should do.

And to Hinata, one question remains unanswered, _Will I be able to see you again?_

* * *

><p>Again, like the nights before this one, ever since they first stayed at the inn, she is staring again at his broad back, his clothed shoulder was peeking from the white covers and his hair was set free from the restriction of the thin white band that had always held it in place, to keep it out of his way.<p>

She again felt the urge to run her fingers through his brown locks, even if it's just once. Even if it's just this time.

Knowing that he's sound asleep, she silently and carefully pulled the flimsy white blanket covering her and slowly rose from her wooden bed. The female fought the urge to flinch when the bare skin of her feet was greeted by the cold floor.

Neji was sleeping, with his body facing and coming in close contact with the wall. With her pale eyes, she eyed him intently, scrutinizing his form, memorizing every feature, angle and line her sense of sight can take in.

The white, gentle light of the moon had casted dark shadows over their room, it covered and engulfed them both. And with it, she felt a little bold, a little invisible like a ghost. Her nervousness and hesitation had been covered and pushed to the side by the stillness and calmness of the night.  
>She felt like she was alone; and she is able to do anything that she wanted to do without being judged, scrutinized or even stopped, she almost is, except for the presence of the warm breathing body before her that her nerve endings on her skin had always wanted to feel and be indulged in.<p>

She cautiously crossed the distance between her bed and his with her small and dainty steps.

She cautiously cleared the empty side of his bed, her small white hands carefully and delicately pushed his cotton blanket to him, bringing it closer to his body.

She wants to feel closer to him, even just this once.

She slowly sat on the firm mattress, and gently laid her head on the empty unused pillow, just beside Neji's.

The wooden bed creaked a little at her movements, and the spring, foam and cloth beneath their bodies compressed and squeezed under their combined weight.

She shifted, careful not to get too close, but close enough to feel his warmth.

There were certain feelings and words that filled her chest and wanted to burst from her mouth. Just like all the other nights before, she let them out one by one, but this might be the last one. Their last night.  
>So like the past few nights that she had been silently whispering to him from the other bed across the room, she gathered up her courage that seemed to be uninhibited as long as he's asleep.<p>

She doesn't want this night to end, she doesn't want the sun to rise if it means separating from this moment. She felt safe here, safe because he's close enough for her to touch him, and close enough to feel his body warmth radiating from him.

But she's still inches away.

She's quite afraid that he will wake up, become sober from the surprise of seeing her in his bed, and get mad and drive her away.

_But if this is our last night_, she thought.

She silently took a deep breath and closed her eyes, letting go of all her worries and fears.

_He won't mind,_ she told herself, _he will never know._

The pale-eyed woman hesitantly opened her palms and let her fingertips brush against the soft white fabric of his shirt. From his shoulders, as he laid sleeping, her hand moved down, tracing an imaginary straight line. And under under the calloused pads of her fingers, she felt his clothes, his heat, and the bones that she can barely feel from the feathery lightness of her touch, and his silken hair. She dragged her fingers agonizingly slow, as if she'll never be able to do this again.

But she is happy, but awfully confused of what she's feeling.

Like every person in the world, Hinata has weaknesses and certain urges.

As the future clan head she was brought up to be prim and proper, sex was something taboo for her, she was not allowed to think about carnal pleasures. She barely knows anything about that, the only information that she had heard and gathered is when she would accidentally hear someone else's conversation. To her it was strange, and it ended up with her cheeks heating up and blazing furiously, even though she barely understood what they meant.

So Hinata doesn't really understand what this burning feeling inside her is. All she knows is that she wants to touch him or to feel him against her. She doesn't know if it's wrong. She doesn't know if this is enough.

Ignoring the strange feeling in her body, and focusing on what she wanted to tell him this night, she bit her lip, and slowly curled her fingers on the cloth on his back. As her lips parted to inhale for courage, the air was full of his scent.

"Neji-nii..." She begun, her voice wasn't louder than a squeak. It was so soft and airy that it was barely heard by her own ears.

"This might be the last time that I'll be able to talk to you this way... b-but I-I want y-you to k-know..." she paused, disappointed at her faltering courage as she stammered.

Concentrating at what she wanted to say, she closed her eyes once again, hiding her pale orbs.

"I want you to know something, e-even if you don't f-feel the same way and w-will never will..." She forced herself to go on, her eyes squinting shut.

"...I-I don't t-think that I can e-ever say this again, b-but... Neji, I love you." She dropped the honorific, and the last four words were barely audible and comprehensible as she felt some kind of lump in her throat blocking the passage of her voice, but her chest felt oddly light.

_I guess that was all I needed_, She thought. And let go of a breath that she had not know that she had been keeping.

Her fisted hands slowly uncurled, letting go of his shirt. And she sadly smiled to herself. _Too bad he'll never really know_.

But white lavender eyes widened in surprise when Neji shifted to face her, his eyes that are much like her's didn't have a trace of sleepiness in them, and his lips were curled upwards into a smile.

"I know." He said as if she asked for his reply.

"Y-your're a-a-awake?" She asked, her cheeks looked like it was draining all the blood from her body.

"Yes." He said, his smile never leaving his face. "Do you think that I never heard you whisper these past few nights? Do you think that I am not able to see you just because my back is turned to you?"

She didn't dare to answer because what she thought was already obvious in her shocked face.

But Neji sensed her distress and raised his hand, lightly touching her face. With his long, slender fingers he brushed the stray strands of her long dark hair from her face and caressed her cheek. _I had been wanting to do this for so long._

_You don't know how much I hid, how much I've wanted you for so long._

His hand slid to cradle her jaw to prevent her head from turning away as he gently dipped his head, and he lightly pressed his lips against hers.

The way her lips trembled on contact, and how she squinted her eyes tightly shut, confirmed his notion that she's still innocent, pure, and inexperienced. And he smiled against her soft closed lips as he thought to himself if this is her first kiss.


	11. Response

**Author's Note:** I present to you, another chapter of Bonds!

To my chapter 10 reviewers, I am so happy that you guys liked it. I'm not really used to writing sweet scenes (heck, I'm not used to writing romantic stories at all!), but I guess it turned out pretty well. :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.

* * *

><p><em>It had been a few days after a clan-justu had blemished the pale skin of his forehead with a cursed seal. <em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>And the memory of the ceremony was forever etched into his mind. <em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>He remembered meeting a small shy girl, with a pinkish tint on her cheeks, whom he openly called cute. <em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>He remembered meeting a person who looked exactly like his father, except that the area above his eyebrows was smooth and bare, tilted up and proud, like he was unconsciously flaunting the lack of cloth or forehead protector as a covering on the frontal part of his head.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>He remembered not listening to the words of the two identical Hyugas before him, and it landed like muffled voices on his ears as he looked intently at the delicate girl before him, who was clutching at the bottom part of her father clothes. She looked so fragile to him. He smiled at her. Hoping that it will reassure her that there's nothing to be shy of.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>He remembered the look on his father's face as he was being led away.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>And he remembered the sensation of a firm calloused palm against his small forehead and the feeling of fire and lightning carving his skin, making his eyes water and his throat dry from screaming and begging for the pain to stop. <em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>It did. When everything was replaced by darkness.<em>

_"Listen Neji." Hizashi said, his face never turning to the child he is speaking to; his eyes never leaving the two figures sparring in front of him. _  
><em><br>_  
><em>The young child's attention was fixed on his father, cutting off the train of his thoughts.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>"Hinata-sama of the main family, you will live to protect her and the Hyuga blood."<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>"Yes father." Young Neji smirked and answered immediately, thinking that he would like to protect the small girl before him. <em>  
><em>Despite of his uncle's harsh criticism about her moves and slow footwork, he knows that she is trying her very best. He knows that she's trying hard not to fall with every strike of her father's palm on her tiny body, or not to wince nor flinch at his words.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>What happened next, he did not know, but his father's forehead protector was removed and both of his father's hands were raised up in agony to his temples. The edge of the markings of the green tattoo on his skin looked red as if it was being burned by an unseen flame and he's going to bleed. The veins on his father's temples were dilated, it raised and bulged against his skin, it almost looked like it was going to explode; and he knows that he can never forget the sound of his father's screams.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em><br>_  
><em>His father became silent, but the silence did not stay long when he heard a voice identical to his father's speak.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>"You must not forget your duty."<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>Neji's hands tightened into a fist, not understanding what had happened, or what his uncle's words meant. But hatred was forming inside of him.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em><br>_

* * *

><p><em><br>_  
><em>His father had died, protecting a child that was not his, and saving the life of his only brother who activated his seal.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>Neji, now twelve, still young but intelligent enough to understand everything had attained what the other Hyugas cannot, he had become what the heiress can never be.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>He is strong.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>He is the Hyuga clan's pride, the genius, the prodigy.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>At a young age he had already learned and mastered secret clan techniques that were usually kept hidden from the Branch family. He easily learned moves and justus that people who are much older than him and more privileged than him still had difficulty in mastering.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>Even though born from from the lowly Branch House, he walks in the compound with his head held high, and his pale silver-tinged eyes were full of dignity, secret hatred and pride.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>He knows that they can never harm him, because he brings recognition to the Hyuga name.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>And every time he sees her, the heiress, the weakling, He wants to do nothing but slam his palm in to her chest will all his chakra and shout at her and tell her how much she's not worth it. <em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>How much she's not worth the clan title. <em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>How much she's not worth his father's life.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>How much she's not worth protecting.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>To him, she was never worth it.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>But sometimes, when they accidentally see each other, their identical eyes would sometimes meet and she -despite all the hatred that he had openly showed her-gives him a smile that always looked true and sincere. He finds it hard to keep the angry look in his eyes and his frown from disappearing; Because he knows that she is still the fragile person he had met when he was four.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>There was this one point in his life when he was still young and a genin, and he had decided to 'forgive' her. He searched for her, and with his mastery of the Byakugan, finding her wasn't all that difficult. He found her in the academy grounds, just outside the big building of their school. She was just a few meters away from him, and hiding behind a tree. He slowly walked towards her, remembering the words he had practiced on his head about forgiving her, and he put up a smile on his face, that looked much like a grin, but he stopped his feet from advancing any further when he saw her peek from behind the rough tree trunk and her cheeks tinted red into a blush and her two index fingers pointed and pushed against each other as she stared at a loud blonde haired boy.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>Neji almost did not notice the two sets of bentos behind her, and he can easily see her hesitation and embarrassment. He knows that he can read the heiress as if she's an open book, and he can translate and understand her every move and every gesture, every twitch of her muscles and negligible actions.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>But despite his understanding of her and everybody else around him, he couldn't quite understand why the rate of <em>_his breathing was becoming more difficult to control, and why he's clenching his fist, hard enough for his nails to leave marks on his palm. _  
><em><br>_  
><em>His smile disappeared on his face, and became a frown.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>He wanted to hurt her again, and also the kid whom her white eyes never left.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>His body was itching to form a battle stance, his palm wanting to make contact with a chest, a body, or skin. His chakra was roaring inside him, wanting to be left out and used. <em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>But he knows he has much more control than that.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>So Neji turned, and walked away. Forgetting that he wanted to make peace and forgive. <em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>He had denied to himself his soft-spot for the frail Hyuga girl, and he had unconsciously tried to make himself believe that what he felt for her was nothing but hate.<em>  
><em><br>_  
><em>But inside, although he never admitted it, he really wanted to be with her.<em>

* * *

><p><em><br>_  
>Neji's silvery white eyes never left the form of the sleeping body lying next to him, and his sculpted lips arched unto its edges and formed a smile as he thought about his new found freedom.<p>

The freedom to touch her. The freedom to love her.

For so long he had repressed what he felt for her, that letting it out while fighting to tame certain fires and desires all in one night had overwhelmed him, and made him feel a tad weak.

His gaze shifted to the pale unblemished skin of her shoulder, and his hand slowly moved to touch it, and he felt the pads of his fingers blaze against her smooth texture. His hand slowly but hungrily roamed over her exposed skin, her neck, her arms, her face. He felt her lean muscles and bones that hid beneath her whiteness, and moving further, he felt the silky texture of her dark hair. They seemed to stain like ink when he ran his pale hand through them and examined her locks on his palms, they made soft little lines made by lone strands, and he just wanted to bury his face in her them and fully drown in their softness.

_Soft._

He thought that she was so soft. Everything about her is soft. The hair, the skin and the lips, and he wondered to himself how this woman can actually be a kunoichi. She looked so gentle and so kind, and she looked like she wouldn't have the guts to hurt anyone. But seeing her, and watching her grow, he knows perfectly well what her soft palms are capable of.

The long-haired male smiled. To him, this moment is perfect. That this can actually be a dream. He never really did dream much, he could not remember the last time he had one, but if this is just a fantasy or hope during his slumber, then he would be thankful for fully experiencing this short-lived happiness.  
>And as if wanting to know if his naive speculation is right, his fingers traveled to her neck, looking for a point where he can feel her.<p>

He felt her life when his fingers rested on the pulse on her neck. It silently throbbed and it made him relax. His calloused hand moved and rested on the middle of her chest, just beneath the small notch on her neck. He spread his fingers, touching her delicate collarbones, and as she inhaled, he felt her chest expand with air, gently pushing against his palm.

He felt her life.

He inhaled, and all he can smell is her scent.

_If this is a dream, I would not want to wake up._

Neji had been with different women before, they had all cared for him, loved him and became intimate with him, but he couldn't make himself return their feelings because he just can't seem to get himself to invest or involve any of his emotions. He knows that they will leave him, or what usually happens, he will leave them.  
>But, right now, with the gentle heiress quietly sleeping in his arms, he doesn't really know what to do. All his feelings seemed to swallow him up, and he gladly drowned in them.<p>

Because this is her.

This delicate woman, he can never hurt her.

He had a weakness for her ever since he was four.

He knows that he can never leave her, and he knows that he can never hurt her.

Not now, not anymore. Not since what she said this night.

He doesn't want to. He told himself that he will never will.

There's a fire inside his body, there is a strong want. But he just couldn't bring himself to taint something so pure. She's so angelic, so innocent, so fragile, like a delicate porcelain doll, and her skin made her look just like that.

She looks like she can easily break.

Under the thin sheet covering them both, their legs were entangled with each other. He loved her warmth, and he can feel her softness and texture every time she shifts. Her clothed back was pressed against his lean torso, and his hand continued to rest on her chest, feeling every movement as she breathes.  
>He moved his body slowly and cautiously, careful not to wake her up and propped himself up with one elbow. His face hovered above hers, and the short strands of his auburn-colored hair cascaded from his shoulders, it curtained and fell. It blocked the view of his surroundings and all he can see is her beautiful face. With his opalescent eyes focused on her pink petal-like lips, he dipped his head and once again, pressed his lips against hers.<p>

He felt her lips slightly part, and her eyelashes flutter as they opened.

He moved his face just millimeters away from hers and he softly whispered to her soft lips.

"I love you too."

* * *

><p>The sun slowly rose, painting the sky yellow with it's rays, the two Hyugas stood side by side outside the inn, with their bags carefully packed and slung on their shoulder. The escorts were patiently waiting for their female client to appear, and once she does, they will resume treading forward to Tea Country.<p>

When Kasumi arrived, the female kunoichi greeted her with a pleasant "Ohayo", while the male simply nodded. They left at once.

The red-haired client couldn't put her finger on it, but there is something different. She can feel it.

But the closer she had observed and eyed her two companions, the more she suspected that it's just her thoughts, or maybe her fever is returning. Because everything seemed normal, everything seemed the same.

She turned her face to observe her requested male escort and she saw that nothing changed in him. Neji's eyes are like the last time they were on their way to her home. His eyes are still cold and distant, and his Kekkei Genkai is still activated, the bulging veins in his cheeks are still the same, and he also didn't speak. Which is nothing unusual. No matter how hard she tries to converse with him, she just couldn't make him talk for long. But he is kind enough or polite enough to answer, always replying no matter how short it is, even if it's just a simple, 'Hn.', or more often than not, a nod or a shrug.

Her eyes then shifted to her other woman besides herself. She's still the same, with her eyes cast downwards to the ground that she's walking on. There's nothing unusual about her actions. Kasumi thought that she's too quiet. She knows that her female escort rarely speaks unless spoken to, and once she does, she stutters.

As the three of them silently walked, their feet silently stepping upon the grassy earth. Kasumi was walking beside the young jounin and her head was tilted up to the sky, her eyes focused on the fluffy white clouds overhead. She always smiled to him, and pointed out to him the most interesting things that she saw on their way. Occasionally, she would clutch her fingers on the white sleeve of his shirt. He wouldn't say anything though, but he would always shrug his shoulders. And she understood that he's not too fond of being touched. _Serious, silent people tend to be like that._She thought to herself.

But when she got distracted from her 'cloud-viewing' by the movement of brown hair in the corner of her eye, her head tilted back to it's normal position and she silently watched as Neji turned and walked to the dark-haired woman behind her.

Kasumi's heartbeat quickened, and she knows that her earlier suspicion is starting to be confirmed, when his pale silver-tinged eyes met with the female kunoichi's, and for a moment, the steeliness and coldness in them softened and vanished, and the muscles around his mouth twitched into a unsure small smile. His face moved closer to her and he whispered something on to her ear, and the female raised her dainty hands, her fingers covered her mouth, and let out a small, "O-oh" and a giggle.

The red-haired client almost dismissed it, thinking that it's something that close friends do. He might be telling her a joke. But somehow, she knows that jokes and Neji just doesn't seem to go together.

But her emerald eyes widened in jealousy and surprise when they resumed walking, and the young jounin's hand was placed on the small of the long-haired female's back, and the shy kunoichi moved closer to him, her pale cheeks tinting red, and her smile never disappearing on her face.

* * *

><p><strong>Another Author's Note<strong>: No long passionate kisses yet. I'm sorry.

And, I know, I know. I can't believe it either that it took another chapter for Neji to reply.


	12. Return

**PLEASE READ:**

**Author's Note:** ACK! I just re-read my earlier chapters and noticed tons of errors and mistakes. I'm really sorry about that. Maybe I should get a beta or something, but I will try to fix it.

Um, to those who subscribed to this story and placed it on their 'Alerts', **I'm really sorry** but I might flood your inbox when I upload the next chapter, because with it, I'm gonna publish the tried-to-fix/edited version of chapters 1-11 using that 'Replace/Update Chapters With New Content' option. (Wait, wait, people get e-mails for that, right? Or I might be wrong, and you can just ignore this stupid author's note and make fun of my noob-ishness. I'm new here.) You don't need to read those chapters again, I'll just fix the grammar and typos. And, I'M REALLY REALLY SORRY. I'm always half-asleep whenever I write a story! (Inspiration comes at peculiar times?) you can scold me for my stupidity in the reviews or PM's if you want, I deserve it anyway.

Gaaah, I promise to reread my stories twice, thrice or even four times or more before I upload it to FF or my LJ.

And if any of you want to criticize my work, please do. The reason I'm here is to improve my writing anyway.

And once again, I'm really really sorry.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.

* * *

><p>Bright-green eyes silently darted left and right, calmly taking in the familiar environment that she's in. The color and lushness of the thick trees and shrubs covering the forest that they're currently walking through are all very familiar to her. She knows almost ever species and the potential medicinal uses of all the plants that she and her two escorts are passing by, and she can also tell the names of the shapely mountains that she saw when her eyes turn to look at the distance.<p>

With a long, soft sigh, and an invisible disappointment in her face and a small indefinite feeling of gladness in her, she knows that she's home.

_It would only be hours until we reach my village_. Kasumi sadly thought, and her face turned to look up at the long-haired shinobi walking beside her. Her brows furrowed with confusion and genuine concern, noticing that his shoulders are unusually tense and his brows are slightly creased in the middle. She was going to ask him what is wrong, but she saw his head turn to the female escort and his lips parted to speak. And, although frustrated, she just decided to be quiet and listen to what he was going to say.

"We are being followed." He said. There wasn't any trace of neither nervousness nor fear in his voice.

The dark-haired kunoichi nodded and quietly said, "I-I felt them."

To Kasumi, her female escort did not look scared either. She actually saw a glint of determination in her eyes, and it showed her readiness to fight... But she stuttered, and she asked herself if that means anything, like she might be wrong about the courage that she saw. But she always stuttered anyway.

When the client's emerald-like orbs turned back and forth to look at the silently conversing shinobi and kunoichi who are obliged to protect her and make sure that she arrived in her village safely -and she hoped that without a scratch on her body too- she just couldn't stop herself from comparing them both. When she looks closely at their physical appearance, they're quite identical, they both match, and they're almost the same actually.

The pupiless eyes, the long hair, delicate-looking pale skin and even the style of their clothes are almost alike. But in everything else, they are very much different, like Neji, just by talking to him, being close to him or just by plain looking at him, one can easily see that he radiated silent authority, gracefulness, and strength; which Kasumi had greatly admired. And also he gave off an air of pride in him, a little bit of arrogance too, she admitted to herself. But back in Konoha, she knows that he had been called a genius.

Her female escort on the other hand is very different from Neji. She's shy, silent and easily ignored. Unlike the stoic Neji, one can easily know what she is feeling just by looking at her face, and Kasumi noticed that she can easily be hurt, even just by the usage of words. She looked a bit pathetic, and Kasumi wondered if her female escort would be able to protect her at all.

She shrugged. _At least Neji is here... I'm sure he won't let me get hurt._ Kasumi thought.

"Kasumi-san! Look out!"

Waking from her thoughts, the red-haired female's head snapped up, and turned to the left, just in time to see five glinting metal kunais aimed directly at her. Kasumi jumped in sudden alarm and fell; her green eyes were wide open in panic.

She saw a bit of purple movement before her and heard the clanging sound of colliding metal weapons. The kunais thrown at her had harmlessly dropped to the ground.

With a swift hand reaching to her weapon pouch and grabbing another metallic throwing knife, Hinata skillfully aimed and threw at the leafy part of a tree. There was a soft thud that followed, and then the dark-haired female turned to her client and asked, "Are you okay?"

She nodded.

"Please hide. We can handle this." Hinata said, with a small smile still delicately gracing her features and her stuttering had disappeared along with her look of fragility. Kasumi thought that her face looked a little different, but when she looked closer at the kunoichi's face, she noticed the almost obvious chakra-filled veins protruding from her cheeks. _So she has that too?_

"W-who are they?" Kasumi spoke. Now she's the one stuttering.

"I'm sorry... I don't know." Hinata calmly said, and then she stood up, turned, and rushed off to the side of the young jounin. Kasumi ran off to hide behind the trunk of a wide tree, her hands were placed over her mouth, hoping that no one will notice her if she doesn't make a sound.

She watched them both from a distance, fighting in a style that looked much like a graceful dance, and the more she had observed, the more she noticed that they almost never punched. They both gave blows with their open palms, and to her, it looked like their strikes doesn't hurt much, or it doesn't hurt at all, but she was surprised by the fact that, one by one, the enemy ninjas were bleeding from the mouth and dropping to the ground.

When Neji's struck his opponents with his fingers or palm, there was something that looked like tiny bursts of blue energy with every hit. His limbs were fast; they looked almost like a blur to Kasumi's eyes. His strikes were always very precise and fatal, she knows that he's hitting vital spots, and her small pink lips slightly parted in awe at the gracefulness and mastery of his movements. Her heart began to beat erratically, whether due to the frightening circumstances she is in, or to the sight of him fighting for her, she does not know. But despite all her reasons to be afraid right now, -like she can die anytime once someone spots her- there's this huge feeling of worry residing inside her chest, not for herself, but worry for her protector getting hurt.

Neji released his chakra from the tenketsu points in his body and rapidly spun, creating a rotating blue dome of spinning chakra around him, causing the deflection of numerous steel weapons thrown at him. Sensing a movement behind a bush, he swiftly turned, ran and viciously charged his palm at the detected ninja's back. The enemy was caught in surprise and almost fell to the ground, but Neji turned him to face him and held him up by the collar. The enemy's feet were hanging limply on the ground, and Neji spoke in his icy voice, "Why are you attacking us?" The unknown ninja coughed, regurgitating blood from the blow that he received and smirked, "You just returned her to us." The Young Jounin gripped the enemy shinobi's collar tighter, and his pale eyes narrowed. "You are not taking her back." And he let go, dropping the now unconscious man on the ground.

There were not many enemies left, he can count them all with his Byakugan activated. He swiftly moved towards a group of enemy shinobis, and struck them down with his chakra-filled palms one by one. To him they looked unorganized and every move that they did was obviously unplanned, their strikes and blows have no strategies and they always have unguarded spots, and Neji smirked as his palm crashed against an enemy's jaw, because he knows that that's the reason why they can easily lose.

Neji turned and spotted another opponent.

With all the bloody, lifeless bodies littering the ground, and the diminished number of detected unfamiliar chakra, Neji knows that the person some distance away from him is the only one left. Neji thought that he looked much like their leader. The enemy was a huge and muscled male, with numerous tattoos and scars covering his arms. His eyes were small and slit-like, and he was carrying a big battle axe. His clothes were tattered and a bit bloodstained and he is swinging his weapon blindly, cutting the bushes, and looking for Kasumi.

"Come out little girl." He said in a mocking tone. "None of your little servants can defeat me."

Neji mentally smirked at the irony. All of his opponent's comrades are dead.

When the man's horrendously familiar voice reached her ears, Kasumi cautiously peeked from the side of the tree trunk to sneak a look at him, and she instantly remembered his face. Her eyes widened in shock and intense fear. She knows that he's the one who slashed and slaughtered her servants... her friends.

The reality and danger of the situation immediately sank in, and the memory of the past was relieved in an instant. Images of lifeless bodies and twisted faces in agony rapidly flashed in her mind. She ungracefully fell on knees landing on the ground, and her hands tightly formed a fist, clutching her blood-red hair, and when she tilted her face up and looked around, all she can see are familiar faces of the dead. Their dark lifeless eyes were all turned to her. She quivered and shuddered as she heard every scream and felt every sensation that she felt that night, as if it was real and happening again. Hot tears fell from her eyes and she wanted to scream to let out the fear that she felt, but no voice came out her throat.

The muscled opponent caught a sliver of red hair and maliciously grinned, he slowly strode towards the big tree where he saw the red lock, and with a savagely ruthless voice he repeated, "Come out, come out little girl."

Kasumi's body convulsed in fright, she heard his every step, and to her, it sounded like murderous thunder.

Neji halted from rushing forward towards the brute, when a dark-haired kunoichi with her activated Kekkei Genkai landed in front of the enemy and lowered herself into the Hyuga fighting stance.

"I'm here." The opalescent-eyed woman said.

"I wasn't looking for you!" The enraged man shouted with fury, his voice was deep and frightening enough to send any normal person scurrying away.

But the kunoichi did not dare flinch, even if she was intimidated.

_I'm not afraid of you._

Hinata concentrated her chakra into her palms and moved forward.

Neji stood by, watching intently as the young female fought. He knows that she had improved; he had been training her after all. But to him, watching her spin, kick and strike by the sidelines is very much different from when you're the one actually fighting her. Neji can see her form and swift movements wholly and clearly, and he was quite amazed and mesmerized by the graceful motions of her body and limbs. Once he's in the ANBU, he would surely miss training her, he would love to be the one who is able to see her every progress, her growth. And he felt a little pang of unfamiliar pain when he realized that he won't be able to be the reason or the one who is responsible for her improvement once she had found another person to teach her moves and jutsus.

As she fought, even if her face was not turned to him, she saw with her Byakugan that Neji is watching from a distance.

_Look at me. Be proud of me._

The enemy swung his axe and Hinata jumped back, the glinting dark blade barely touching her. She reached for her thigh holster, gripping three kunais and sent it humming forward. She followed closely behind it and she watched as the muscled man blocked it with his weapon. Sensing an opening, Hinata's open chakra-filled palm was quickly and forcibly pushed against the enemy's side, damaging the lobes of his left lung. She spun in a flash as the enemy flinched from the pain and she crushed her elbow against the man's jaw. Her opponent took a step back, furiously shook his head, ignoring the pain and the slight labor in his breathing, and his eyes turned up to look at the kunoichi with nothing but pure beastly rage. Hinata's body dropped into the Hyuga fighting stance once more, silently awaiting the man's next move.

_This is what we worked hard for._

The man charged towards her, and she dodged his blow easily, but it grazed a part of her lavender jacket, easily cutting through the thick fabric. She ran to him again to get close and ducked as the steel axe attempted to slice her head off her shoulders. Her palm swiftly made its way through his right knee, damaging his ligaments and tendons. The man yelped in pain, wobbled, slightly losing his balance. He almost dropped his weapon, but the heiress jumped up and her palm, with and intense amount of chakra concentrated in it, savagely met his forehead.

_You made me strong._

The enemy fell to the ground with a sickening thud. Hinata jumped away and looked at his body, waiting for any signs that he might get up and strike again.

Convinced that he wouldn't move nor attack, she turned away and the bulging veins on the sides of her face descended and disappeared underneath her white skin. Her pale orbs surveyed her surroundings and spotted the body of a woman who lay limp and crumpled on the grass, and he young jounin was crouching just next to her. Hinata walked over to him and asked, "W-what happened t-to Kasumi-san?" Her words were broken by little pants. "She must have fainted from fright." Neji answered her. He eyed their client for a moment and continued to speak, "Her home village is not far away, we should be able to reach it today if we start moving." The heiress nodded, and helped the young jounin place the unconscious woman on his back.

When Neji stood up and looked at the female kunoichi, he wanted to do nothing else but to reach his hand out and gently brush the dark strands of hair matted to her face by her glistening sweat. The sun's gentle light made her shine elegantly, and he watched as a drop of clear salty liquid trickled from her temple, to her cheek and run down to her neck, only to disappear in the cloth of her lavender jacket.

Hinata noticed his stare, felt a bit embarrassed and blushed red.

The muscles in his fingers twitched involuntarily, wanting to touch her, but he didn't. Or else the girl on his back might fall.

But when they started walking again, Hinata felt her knees shake a little. Her adrenalin had faded and she felt the exhaustion caused by her recent battle, but she did not show it though. She kept moving forward, her steps were still careful and small. Neji was walking next to her and she silently thought to herself what Neji thought about her fight earlier. _Was he impressed? Did I do anything wrong? Why isn't he saying anything?... He must be disappointed. _She frowned.

As if he heard her thoughts, the Hyuga prodigy's lips parted and he spoke, not looking at her, "You did well."

He didn't say much, but those few words that came out of his mouth was enough for her to blush, smile and feel terribly happy and proud on the inside.

_Thank you Neji._

* * *

><p>She stirred, and felt a familiar softness beneath her. She immediately opened her eyes in panic, and the first thing that greeted her vision was the view of a ceiling that she had seen almost all of her life, ever since she was a child.<p>

Kasumi knows that she is back in her village, back in her house, and in her room, and the only person there was her. No Neji.

With the feeling of panic rapidly building up in her chest, she quickly removed the luxurious white sheets covering her and dashed madly out of her room. Her feet were bare and she didn't notice the pain when her feet mercilessness hit the cold marble floor of her house. She spotted one of her servants and abruptly stopped once she's in front of her. "K-Kasumi-sama, what are you do-" But the newly-returned female cut her off, "Where are they?" She asked, failing to hide the agitation in her voice, "They? Do you mean your escorts Kasumi-sama?" The servant said in a confused tone, "Yes!" The red-haired woman impatiently answered. The servant spoke again and said, "They just left."

With that answer, Kasumi rapidly turned and rushed off, not even bothering to close the front door of her house. She ran towards the main gate of their village, somehow, she knows that they are there.

_Please stay. Don't go. Don't leave._

Those words echoed inside her head and her lower lids brimmed with tears. She felt something painful in her chest, making it harder for her to breathe. When she neared the main gate, Kasumi saw the familiar outline of her savior's back. She ran as fast as her slender legs could manage, and her hands and arms flew up, reaching out for him.

She encircled her arms around his torso, and buried her tear-stricken face on his broad back.

"Stay." She said. Her voice was muffled by his white cotton shirt and as she inhaled, she took in his scent.

Neji did not make a sound.

He carefully pried himself from her embrace and turned to face her. Her misty bright green eyes were pleading for him to reply.

"I can't." He said.

Kasumi flinched when his words reached her ears. It stung in its coldness.

Her fingers went up to his shirt, curling and clutching the soft white fabric. She tried to speak, to convince him to remain with her even though she felt that something hard was lodged in her throat and her knees felt like it was going to give way. "W-why? You can stay here with me. Y-you'll have land, you'll have p-power. My family is the richest here... Y-you don't need to go on missions for m-money or anything." Kasumi said, looking up straight at him, her jade-colored eyes were wet and glinting with sadness.

"Stay." She repeated.

"I can't." He said again.

"Can't you say anything else!" She angrily hissed and shook her hands as she tightened her clutch on his shirt.

Neji stayed silent and waited for her to calm down.

After a long while, her sobbing stopped, and her fingers loosened their tight hold on his shirt, until she completely let go.

Kasumi softly exhaled and with trembling lips she gently spoke with obvious hurt in her voice, "At least... give me a reason why."

He lifted his eyes from her shaking form and turned his head to the side, his white eyes searched and landed at the oblivious female with long inky hair, her back was turned towards them as she was crouching over their bags, with a hand holding up a piece of paper that looked like a list of some sort, her brows furrowed slightly in concentration as she patiently checked and rechecked every supply and necessities they have for their return trip to Konoha.

Neji spoke, never turning her gaze back to Kasumi, "That's why."

She sighed loudly in defeat. Not wanting to neither hear nor say anymore, she took a step back, creating a larger distance between them and slightly tilted her head down as she tried to hold back a sob.

Her hands clenched her blue silk kimono, and she wanted to do nothing else but to run away. She wants to run back to her house and just hole up in her room. But her feet refused to obey her commands and would not move.

Neji just looked at her, not really knowing what to do or say. He never really liked handling too emotional females, that's why he tried to avoid them. Now he's at loss at what to do. But he was a little surprised when the red-haired female's shoulder straightened up from her slump, and her frown turned into a bitter smile. Her cheeks were flushed, and there were liquid marks that stained her flushed face, but she tried her best to look composed, trying to bring back her original proud self.

"...Please tell her I said goodbye." But she couldn't get herself to meet his eyes.

"Hn." He answered.

And she slowly turned away, walking back to her mansion. Feeling defeated.


	13. Same

A/N: It's been so long! The faves and some reviews made me remember that I had a story to write.

And this chapter had been sitting in my computer for quite a while.

The next time I write, the writing style might change... because it's been so LONG since I last wrote anything. Sorry, sorry, I've been distracted by drawing and research. But hey, you can easily find me everyday in one place since I always go online there. It's xamaryllis (dot) deviantart (dot) com.

Now about that editing the other chapters... I'll get around to doing it. Promise!

And about this chapter... I know, I know there's supposed to be more and the ending is... weird, but.. sorry. Next time?

* * *

><p>The two leaf nins were on their way back to Konoha, they went through the same forests and paths that they came from, and since they are free from 'distractions', and they barely stopped for anything, aside from the occasional meal times and camping out to rest during the night, they assumed that they will return much faster than how they came.<p>

And they were right.

In one week they already reached the familiar borders of their village.

Twin pale eyes took in their surroundings. The unbending green trees swayed it's slender branches, wordlessly welcoming them home. But strangely enough, their paces unknowingly became smaller and more slow, as if someone was trying to hold them back from returning, or as if there is hesitation within their every step, or maybe they don't want to go back at all.

Hinata's white orbs were unfocused and her head was tilted downwards as she thought about their nearing arrival. She knows that when she usually returned from her missions, no matter how long that mission took to complete, she will go back to her village, her home, to find that absolutely nothing had changed; she found everything the same way that she left it, peaceful, tranquil and uncaring. Sometimes it scared her, thinking that nothing is improving at all, but the feeling of peaceful reassurance inside her was more profound, knowing that that there is nothing that she had missed and nothing had gone wrong in her absence.

When they return, she both expects and knows that they will find everything the same way as it usually is. They will be greeted by Naruto and his huge grin, Shikamaru would tell them that Tsunade would be waiting for their mission report in her office, and Sakura would be in the hospital waiting for them to come and let her heal their injuries. Shino and Kiba would be training somewhere, trying to improve and hone their skills. And her beloved little sister too, she knows that Hanabi will be training with their father, trying to enhance her mastery of the Byakugan and clan jutsus.

Hinata can never deny the fact that her little sister is gifted and strong like Neji, and she is actually very happy about that fact, knowing that she is the one who took care of her since she was small.

She felt that she helped her sister become what she is now, even if only just by a little. And somehow, on the inside of her, Hinata felt like a proud mother.

And she wondered to herself if her father had ever felt the same way about her.

She unconsciously sighed, and felt a soft familiar warmth encircle her hand, she glanced down at it, only to find Neji's slender fingers gently entangled with her's. She blushed and her hand remained frozen, fearing that the slightest movement that she would make might cause him to move away.

"Is there anything wrong?" He spoke, somehow, there was a strange sound of gentleness that resided in his voice.

"O-oh, n-no. Why w-would you think that?" She asked, biting her lower lip.

"You sighed." He quietly said.

"I was j-just... t-thinking."

He paused for a moment before answering. "About returning?"

"Y-yes." She turned her face away from Neji to hide her expression. _Am I really that easy to read?_

Neji didn't answer, he didn't make a sound, and the conversation just stopped there. The black-haired female glanced up to look at his face, but he wore the same cool expression that he always had.

But she felt his thumb trace small reassuring circles on the back of her hand.

Hinata smiled, and understood that he doesn't need to say anything at all, because he can silently show her or make her feel the things that he wanted to say.

She smiled, because she knows she understood him best.

And his hand never let go.

And they both know that when they return, the village will be as familiar as ever, it's normalcy never faltered or wavered.

But they both know that the two of them will never be the same.

They both lie awake side by side, still and unmoving. Their bodies were barely touching and the night's shadows formed a blanket of darkness that covered them both, and engulfed the small space inside their tent. Somehow, once again, Hinata is thankful for the darkness, because Neji won't be able to see the expression on her face. She is confused, unsure and a bit anxious, she doesn't know what to do when they return to their village.

_We will never be the same._

* * *

><p>She raised her body to sit up, and strong yet gentle arms reached from behind her and encircled her torso, his muscular body pressed against her back, and she felt his calming warmth. Neji softly brushed his lips against the nape of her neck and he felt her chest rise suddenly with her sharp inhalation as a response to his action. He smirked, amused by her unfamiliarity to certain touches, and gently rested his chin on her shoulder.<p>

"Is there something wrong?" He pierced the silence with his voice. He spoke so softly and gently to her as if she's more fragile than glass and words were enough to break her.

Hinata shook her head, and as she did so, her dark-colored hair brushed lightly against his chest. Some of her locks were released from the press of their bodies and smoothly cascaded downwards, delicately touching the skin of his bare arms and back, forming delicate trails that tickled his sensitive skin.

Neji noticed her uneven breathing, and her tense facial muscles even before he touched her.

"You can't lie to me Hinata." He whispered silently, with his lips near her ear.

"I...I'm j-just worried." She admitted, and rested her small hands on his forearms that tightened their hold on her.

"About returning?" He asked.

"Yes." She said it so softly like it was only her breath, and Neji almost missed it if he wasn't so near.

They didn't say anything for a while and silence lingered on, but his hold on her never loosened and she savored the tender sensation of him embracing her, the bare skin of their arms and shoulders were touching and she felt the radiated heat of their bodies, because to Hinata, being encircled by Neji's arms, she felt safe.

Safer than what she felt when she's in the Hyuga Compound or in the comfort of her room,

Safer than what she felt when she's with her friends and teammates,

Safer than what she felt when she's with Naruto.

She closed her pale unfocused eyes, tilted her head back, and rested her head against his collarbone. Even though there are currently numerous thoughts inside her head that made her quite agitated, it all seemed to go away and disappear completely when she felt his rhythmic breathing. His chest rose and fell with every inhalation and release against her back and she matched his pace with her own, and her body had delightedly relaxed when the reassuring warmth of his body seemed to drown the coldness of the night. She knew right there, that she does not want to ever part from him.

_Can we not return? Can I be selfish for just once in my life, and be with you?_

"I know it will be hard..." He began to speak again, and with every word that he formed with his mouth, she felt his warm breath grazing the sensitive skin of her neck, "But I think that it is best, if we do not let them know yet."

She knew that this was coming, being with him seemed to be impossible that they have to hide. "We... we have to... k-keep t-this a s-secret?" The dreaded feeling of anxiousness came to her again, and it seemed to feel like something shadowy and frightening was gripping both her throat and her heart.

_What if someone finds out? What if you get tired of hiding? How can you hide from all-seeing eyes... In our house with no walls?_

Neji sensed her uneasiness and began to run his his slender fingers through her inky hair, hoping that it will calm her and reassure her that everything will be alright. "Do not worry... We will tell them when the time is right."

"B-but... I'm scared." She admitted, her hands turned to form a fist in order to stop trembling. _What if we part?_

"Everything will be fine." As soon as those words left his mouth and reached her ears, she turned her face to look at him.

Their faces were in close proximity to each other, their noses were barely touching and their lips were a mere head's tilt from meeting. When the gentle kunoichi looked into his light-colored eyes that were full of love and tenderness, she began to believe in every word that he said. She knows that he is the kind of person who does not lie, he speaks the truth, no matter how blunt it is, so maybe, he is telling the truth and just not reassuring her with the words that he knows that she wants to hear.

After a small pause, he began to speak again while gently tucking a some strands of dark hair behind her ear, "I want to prove to them, to everyone, that I am worthy of you."

Her lips curved up into a sincere smile. _If there's anyone who needs to prove himself, it is I. _

Everything will be fine. She believed in him.

Neji steel-tinged orbs met and held her gaze, and she felt it pierce through her and look inside of her as if he can see into her very being and discover all the secrets that she hid from the world. His calloused hands released themselves from the silky tangle of her hair and reached up to cup her cheek, and she felt his warm breath on her face.

_Beautiful. _Neji thought.

The extreme closeness of their lips made her cheeks burn, and her lips parted to say something, but with a small inch of movement from him, their faces met and their lips crushed, and in that moment, she felt herself let go of everything, surrender herself to him and melt into his arms.

His arms pulled her closer and their bodies pressed more and more against each other until the flimsy fabric of her night clothes seemed to mean nothing.

When Hinata closed her eyes, her long thick lashes lightly brushed against his cheek, and with the darkness that she experienced from the lack of sight, she felt every sensation more intensely. Everything felt so wonderful and so unfamiliar to her that it almost scared her. But his soft lips, gently moving against her inexperienced ones seemed to wipe out all her thoughts of fear and uncertainty, making her focus on the present, on the now, on the new sensations that he's making her feel.

He felt her lips quiver a bit, and he knows that she's confused on what to do. He then parted her soft lips with his tongue and proceeded to trace her pearly white teeth. He then bit her soft lower lip and her eyes opened and she gasped a little in surprise, and it gave him an opening to enter and ravish her mouth. When she heard her friends talk about kissing, she used tried to imagine how it felt like, but upon experiencing it now, she knows that it didn't go anywhere near how she thought it would be like. If she could explain it, she'd say that it felt a bit like electricity coming from her moving lips and running down her spine and pooling itself on the small of her back, it felt like the heat of her body intensified and made her ache somewhere down below, it felt like longing, it felt like love, it felt like she's doing something right.

Their panting lips pulled away from each other, and their lungs welcomed the intake of the cool night air. He rested his forehead on her flushed cheek as he panted and his arms around her never loosened, and she smiled as she looked into his eyes that shone in the night.

Neji laid himself down on the sleeping bag, and she followed. Both their chests touched as she placed herself against him, and she positioned her face on the crook of his neck as she inhaled him. He smelled like like rain, freshly cut grass and pine. Hinata closed her eyes again, she would like to get lost in him.

His every exhalation tickled her oversensitive skin, and the gentle caresses of her fingertips ignited his nerve-endings as she traced with feathery lightness the contours of his face, neck and shoulders. The longer they stayed pressed against each other, the more he felt her softness melt against his rigidity. He felt like they both fit perfectly, it's as if she was supposed to be there, pressed against him, her body just next to his.

He pulled her up for a kiss again, and audibly gulped when he felt her pelvis grind against his and her small fingers attempt to try to tear his clothes away, because she just has the uncontrollable urge to feel more, kiss more and reach more of him. Hinata cannot explain why, but the lightness of her head and the sensations that she's feeling were distracting her. And any attempt of trying to make out the meaning of her urges seemed to fly out the window.

With his hands on her shoulders, he pulled her away. "You're not ready for this."

"I'm.. I'm r-ready for anything" _Ready for what?_

Neji sighed. "We should get some sleep."

"B-but..." She wanted to say more, she wanted to tell him that she wants to continue, but he silenced her with his lips, that once again descended into her own. He licked her bottom lip pulled away, and smirked as he saw the dreamy look on her face.

Neji then laid back against his sleeping bag, and turned to his side, his back facing her. "You should rest"

_Because tomorrow, we will enter Konoha._


	14. Leaving

**Author's Note:**

Hello dear readers! It's me again!

I haven't abandoned this story yet, I'm just.. distracted. Sorry. ;_;  
>But right now, I'm on a writing (and drawing.. and gaming) rage since I'm quite hypomanic.<p>

So here's chapter 14 of Bonds~ (And check out my new oneshot and drabble for SasuHina fans)

And, please don't forget to review. It makes the authoress really happy. :D

* * *

><p>The large walls of Konoha are coming into view from the distance, and the two returning leaf nins can clearly see the main gates of village opened wide, as if it was welcoming them both home.<p>

There is nothing out of the ordinary on their walk back to their home village, the sky is blue, the trees are well known, and so was the road that they are trekking on, but Hinata cannot help but feel something uneasy gripping her chest. Hinata is well-acquainted with the feeling of nervousness and anxiety; she had felt it ever since she was a child. She had felt it when Naruto talks to her when she was still a genin, she had felt it when she fought Neji in the exams, and whenever her father watches her and her little sister spar, but there was a new found feeling of uneasiness that settled within her that she cannot seem to shrug off.

So she gives out a soft sigh, and her fingers nervously fiddled with the hem of her jacket.

Sensing her discomfort, the auburn-haired Hyuga gently pried her hands away from her lavender jacket, and entwined his fingers with hers. He did not look at her; he did not speak to her, but that little action made Hinata lose a bit of her anxiousness.

Her head was bowed while walking to cover her face, and she stared at their entwined hands for a moment before she slowly lifted her face to look him. She only saw the side of his face, his light-colored eyes looking far ahead, no visible lines on his cheek, no Byakugan; if she wasn't Hinata, if she was any other person, she might have not noticed that something is different with him. But she is she, and she knows him better than anyone else, so with a small swift glance at him, she immediately noticed his tense shoulders, the slight furrowing of his brows and the pace of his breathing that he is trying hard to control.

And Hinata smiles for a bit, knowing that he is just a bit as anxious as she, and she lightly leaned her head against his arm, her inky hair staining the white fabric of his sleeve, her white orbs down to the path they're walking on, and she whispers reassuringly to him, " I... I think e-everything will be fine."

With her close proximity to his body, she felt him give a long exhalation of air that sounded a bit like a sigh, and she felt his shoulders slowly relax. Neji's steel-colored eyes softened as it drifted to the petite girl beside him, and he unconsciously tightened his hold on her soft hands.

"Aa." He said, in a voice as gentle as his eyes. "It will."

When the two Hyuga nins neared the large main gates of Konoha, their hands unwillingly let go of each other, their fingers uncurled and released their hold as their palms relaxed as they moved to separate, but their pale fingers lingered for a moment, their fingertips lightly touching each other's skin, until he took a step away from her to create a distance between them.

Once they entered the main gates of Konoha, they were instantly greeted by leaf shinobis, mostly chuunins, and as expected, Shikamaru was there, looking quite bored, just like always.

"Hey." The black-haired boy greeted as he walked towards the two Hyugas.

Neji responded with an expected "Hn" and Hinata replied with a smile and a small nod, her head slightly bowed in shyness as she looked at the Nara.

"You guys came back early. I'll send word to the Hokage that you're here." Shikamaru said as he nodded to the side at a male chuunin, and the chuunin nodded back at him in understanding as he lifted two fingers to his lips and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The older Hyuga only nodded in acknowledgement at this and Hinata kept silent as Shikamaru continued speaking, his eyes trailing to the side as he spoke in a very tired voice,

"I think Neji can go alone to report your mission to the Hokage. Afterwards, your ANBU ceremony can begin." The Nara smirked at the brown-haired male and added "Congratulations on being promoted by the way."

Neji murmured a small thanks to the black-haired boy and the boy smirked again as he made a small gesture that he is going to leave, then he turned on his heels and walked back to his post near the gate, saying something under his breath about how troublesome it is that his work is interfering with his cloud-watching.

Neji turned his face to the indigo-haired female beside him and said, "I should go to the Hokage's tower. You can go back home and rest Hinata-sama."

The small female inwardly flinched at the honorific that Neji used after her name; she stared at him, her white eyes wide as she automatically responded with a soft, "H-hai." And she silently reminded herself that Neji is just acting his part, that their relationship is a secret, that nobody should suspect anything.

And Neji turned from her, and walked away.

Somehow, Hinata wondered if the Konoha gate is secretly a portal of some sort, and the people who pass by it will not remember the things that happened outside. Because looking back upon it, it all felt like a dream, but a very beautiful one, things had happened so fast, that she almost doubted if it was all real.

But as she remained frozen as she stared at his retreating back, she saw the young jounin's head turn ever so slightly to glance at her, and she smiled at him.

And she knows that she had not been dreaming at all.

* * *

><p>There was a rustling sound in the next room and the sound of feet walking, and Hinata being a trained kunoichi had been awakened by it. She slowly blinked the blur of sleep from her eyes and was immediately greeted by the familiar ceiling of her bedroom. The sleepy female realized that it was nighttime as she noticed the light of the moon that was streaming from her glass windowpanes and illuminating the wall of her dark room.<p>

She slowly got up from her bed, and she turned her body to dangle her feet on the side of the bed. Hearing that the sound in the next room would not stop, she wanted to check up on it, since the room beside her's is Neji's. Hinata slid her hands twice on her indigo-colored hair, her fingers mimicking a toothed comb as she flattened the unruly stands of hair on her head.

Her small feet were greeted by the polished wooden floors, and as she stood up, she mechanically straightened her sleeping yukata, she walked slowly across her room until she reached her shoji doors. She quietly slid the door open and stepped out, and after five steps, she was in front of Neji's bedroom door.

Forgetting to knock in her half-awake state, her delicate hand moved up to the wooden frame of the door, and beneath her fingertips, she felt the smooth polished wood and crisp, white paper that served the entrance of every room the Hyuga household. She slowly moved her hand to the side to slide open the door, only to see Neji crouched in the middle of the room, his back towards her, and surrounded by sharp kunais and shurikens neatly placed together on the wooden floor near him, with a scroll in his hand that he placed inside his duffel bag.

He sensed her presence before she even opened the door, but he did not turn to look at her anyway.

The noise from his movements stopped when she opened the door, because he just sat there and stopped moving, it was silent for a moment, Hinata now fully awake and taking in what was happening in front of her. The opal-eyed female decided to break the silence in the room as she asked, "You're leaving?"

Neji stood up, his bag forgotten for a moment, and Hinata immediately noticed the change in his clothes. Instead of the traditional white Hyuga clothes that he usually wore, he is now sporting a black shirt underneath a grey vest with black pants, and there was a mask of a hawk with white and red marks dangling from his hip. His black gloves almost reached the upper part of his arms, the fabric not going any higher than that, stopping abruptly just to show the proud black tattoo that all ANBU ninjas sport.

He slowly moved towards her, his steps now as silent a predatory cat.

He answered her question with a characteristic "Hn." and closed the door behind her.

"So s-soon?" She quietly whispered. "Y-you've just gotten back."

"Aa." He said as he looked into her eyes, her lavender-tinged pupils looked like glass marbles in the darkness of his room. "There are things that are needed to be done."

Silence lingered on again, and he went back into packing. The sharp shurikens beside Neji were glinting in the dark as it reflected the glow of the moon. The silence was broken only by the occasional noise of him walking across the room and opening drawers to take out extra scrolls and weapons there.

Hinata gently slid the shogi doors again and stepped out as she quietly returned to her room without any uttered words from her lips.

Neji's movements slowed as he faltered.

When the newly-promoted ANBU finished packing, he stood up and slung his bag on his shoulder. As he was making his way to his door, ready to leave, the door quietly slid open, and Hinata timidly stepped inside with her head slightly bowed and clutching a container of ointment in her small hand.

Wordlessly, and with her eyes looking at a spot on the wooden floor, she held out her hand to him, offering him the healing ointment that she made some weeks before.

He took a step towards her, lifted her delicate chin with his finger, and silently murmured, "Look at me Hinata."

Her hand with the ointment was forgotten for a moment as she raised her head and her lavender eyes met his steel-colored ones and he slid his lips against hers.

The small locks of his brown hair tickled her cheek, and there was a small noise as she dropped the ointment container on the polished floor when she circled her arms on his neck.

She parted her petal-like lips for him, just like last night, and his tongue entered her as she did, her arms pulled him closer to her, and his hands at the back of her head felt the softness of her long hair as he pressed their faces together.

They separated to breathe, and Neji smirked at her flushed face and swollen lips and he bent down to retrieve the forgotten ointment on the floor.

"P-please be careful." She said in a voice that as so soft and airy that he almost didn't hear it.

He stood back up, placed the container in the right pocket of his black pants and his hand gently traced her jaw as he answered her with a small kiss on the forehead. She looked at him and smiled gently at him in understanding, and on an instant, the door of his room shut closed, and Hinata was alone.


End file.
